Shadow Rise
by Above the Winter Moonlight
Summary: A dangerous yet controllable power awakened early, a missing older brother, an adopted sister with a dangerous gift, deadly shadow games and shocking revelations will succeed in plunging Jaden Yuki and his family and friends' into a deadly storm with everything on the line. Jaden/Alexis AU Ch 11 Posted. (No Longer Accepting OCs for S1. Accepting OCs for S2, PM Me for More Info)
1. The Entrance Exams

_Okay, in terms of notes, I have a lot of them for this story. First off, I want to say that this is basically a rewrite of _Spirit Bonds_ but with a completely different plot and new characters._

_Since this is my first attempt at a Supreme King awakens early story, I have to tell you this; the Supreme King (Haou) is not completely evil in this story, but he is not completely good either, more an anti-hero than anything (You'll get more information on what exactly I'm doing with Haou in the second chapter, since it's something that I've only seen done in a few stories that I've read). And it's because of this that Jaden and Yubel's souls are _not_ fused together but she is still connected with him._

_Another note is that my beta-reader _EndlessNight025_'s OC is the only OC created by a reviewer that I am going to allow in this story (at least for this season. I may ask for some if I decide to do seasons 2 and 3)._

_Also, in terms of the cards I'm bringing in to this story, I am bringing in cards and archetypes that are new for the GX series. As of right now though, only one of the OCs I created uses an archetype that is new to GX._

_Also, while this story covers the same season as _Genesis_, _Genesis_ is not abandoned. I just really liked this idea and decided to type it up and see where it takes me, especially since it gives me the chance to explore an idea that has been done before in this fandom and mold it until it's not like the other stories that have used this idea._

_And yes, a huge thank you to _EndlessNight025_ for being a wonderful beta-reader who is actually willing to beta-read two stories at once._

…_I think that's everything I wanted to say. If I forgot anything then it will be put in my ending notes. I hope that you enjoy this story and reviews, as always, are much appreciated._

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, I never have, I never will and I am only saying this once (I also don't own anything associated with the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. Just thought I'd add that) so I will not repeat it in later chapters. I also do not own Arina Zharkov (EndlessNight025 does); the only characters I own are my two OCs._

**Shadow Rise**

**1**

**The Entrance Exams**

The annoying blare of the alarm clock echoed throughout the room, though the person it was supposed to wake up didn't so much as stir. Judai Yuki, though he preferred to go by his middle name Jaden, was oblivious to the blare of his alarm clock, much to the irritation of his guardian spirit and his adopted sister.

His guardian spirit—Yubel—was currently floating next to the bed, glaring down at the boy's sleeping form and wondering how in the world he could sleep through the alarm, when it was on high and right next to his head. Yubel was a half-male/half-female creature with large black wings, pale-purple skin and a black outfit. Her hair was half-white, half-blue and spiky; her eyes were heterochromatic—one was orange while the other was blue—and there was a third red eye placed vertically above and between her two eyes.

Standing in the doorway of the door and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes was Kasumi Yuki, Jaden's adopted sister. She was only a little shorter than Jaden, with shoulder-length wavy black hair with blue highlights currently dressed in a purple top, black jeans and a dark-purple jacket. Her eyes were light-green and there was a silver locket hanging around her neck with the initials KS inscribed on it.

"How can he sleep through that?" Kasumi asked with a yawn; she was currently holding a cup of water in her hand while her other hand covered her mouth.

'_I'm convinced Judai could sleep through a nuclear explosion_,' Yubel said, folding her arms across her chest; she was one of only two people that could call Jaden by his first name without getting him angry.

Kasumi could see and hear duel spirits just like her adopted brother but she also had another gift that she never talked about, except with Jaden, as it scared her. Nevertheless, being able to see and hear duel spirits had freaked her out when she first learned she could do it but, now, she had gotten used to it.

_'I've_ _been trying to wake him up since his alarm went off_,' Yubel added.

Kasumi smiled a little. "How is it that Raiden could easily get him up but we have so much trouble?" she wondered aloud as she made her way deeper into the room.

Yubel shrugged. She didn't know. _'It's_ _his gift, I guess_,' she said.

Kasumi stopped when she was halfway across the room before proceeding to toss the ice-cold water she was carrying right into Jaden's face. Jaden yelped in surprise before jumping and landing with a thud, entangled within his blankets next to his bed.

"Kas! I told you to stop doing that," Jaden protested, glaring at her as he sat up.

"You won't get up any other way. Yubel's been trying to wake you up since your alarm started going off," Kasumi said with a shrug.

Jaden yawned as he stood up. "Why did you bo…? Wait, _the__exams_. Damn! I was hoping to get there early," he exclaimed and, after untangling himself, dashed out of the room.

"I already knew that wasn't going to happen," Kasumi mused.

Kasumi had been adopted into the Yuki family five years earlier when she was ten, a full year after the deaths of her parents. She hadn't been very talkative during the first few years after she was adopted, as she always felt that she had only been adopted out of charity and that if she messed up, like accidentally did something freaky with her cursed gift—that's what she called it anyway—or said the wrong thing, she would be back in the orphanage. She got along great with Jaden and his older brother Raiden, though, and they helped her to integrate herself into the family and even helped to keep her ability quiet. It wasn't as if her gift was obvious, it was just disconcerting and often left her as a loner among her peers.

However, Jaden was a bit of an enigma during those first couple of years too. While he was kind to her and treated her like a sister, he was also very withdrawn and often kept to himself and to his cards, rarely talking to anyone except his brother. Kasumi had thought that Jaden was simply shy but had learned the truth two years after she was adopted, when she learned that Jaden had a gift just like she had, one that was much more dangerous than hers.

To this day, Kasumi still didn't understand much about Jaden's gift but then neither did Jaden. She, Jaden and Raiden had only learned from Yubel that Jaden was the reincarnation of a powerful king of another dimension known as the Supreme King—or Haou, as that was the King's name—and that he was gifted with the power of the Gentle Darkness. Yubel had told the three of them that no one must know about this as it may put Jaden in danger and the only reason she revealed it to Kasumi and Raiden was because they were Jaden's family and he trusted them.

Kasumi always got the feeling that Yubel was keeping something from them, though, but she never let on that she felt that way. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets and it wasn't as if Kasumi, herself, didn't have secrets. She did, like the one time her gift got out of control and was the reason why she had been sent to an orphanage to begin with, especially considering the fact that she did have family left.

Kasumi sighed, not wanting to think about what happened, though her gift was the main reason why she had changed her deck. She refused to use any monsters or spell cards that dealt with fire, for she feared that her gift would get out of control, since it only ever seemed to come out whenever she was using FIRE-attribute monsters. It was because of this that people avoided her like the plague and blamed her whenever a fire would break out wherever she was, even if she had nothing to do with it. They called her a witch but, since they couldn't prove she had done anything wrong, the police couldn't do anything.

Jaden made his way back into the room. His brown hair—with a single strip of orange—was currently wet and messy; his brown eyes—that would turn to gold whenever he was extremely angry, extremely irritated or using the cards his past life's self used—still looked sleepy. He was dressed in a red shirt, black jeans and a black jacket with gold along the hem; why, Kasumi didn't know. Yubel was convinced it had something to do with being the Supreme King's reincarnation.

"How long 'till the exams start, Kas?" Jaden asked, quickly brushing his hair.

"An hour, but it's going to take us that long just to get to the train and then to the Kaiba Dome," Kasumi said.

"Not if we run when the train gets there."

_'This_ _would not be a problem had you gotten up when your alarm first went off, Judai_,' Yubel said.

Jaden sighed. "Will you ever stop calling me that?" he asked.

_'No. I don't understand why you don't like that name. Raiden calls you that all the time_,' Yubel pointed out.

"Yeah. I know Raiden does…did, but I don't like it." Jaden didn't elaborate but then, he never did; there was a reason why he didn't like that name, Kasumi was sure of it, but she was pretty sure Yubel was the only one who knew why but just didn't understand the reason.

There was sadness in Jaden's voice as he talked about his brother. It always seemed to show up when he spoke about him, ever since Raiden disappeared along with a few other students from Academy Island the year before. Kasumi knew that Jaden was hoping to find some clues as to what happened to his brother by going to Academy Island.

"Come on, we should get going," she said, placing a hand on Jaden's shoulder.

Jaden nodded before the two of them—with Yubel floating after them—left the room.

**. . .**

Jaden and Kasumi ended up having to run the majority of the way to the Kaiba Dome after getting off the train in Domino City, because they had left later than Jaden thought they would. He wasn't too surprised that they were running late; he always had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, sometimes because he was lazy, sometimes because of nightmares and sometimes because he was busy working on mastering his powers with Yubel. Usually, it was the first two, as Yubel's training didn't happen too often.

"Slow down, Jay! You know…I can't run…too far…too fast," Kasumi gasped.

Jaden glanced over his shoulder and slowed down, allowing his adopted sister to catch up with him. "Sorry," he said. He kept forgetting that Kasumi's asthma prevented her from running too much; it was a good thing she always kept her inhaler with her just in case and it was also good that her asthma wasn't as bad as it could be.

"It's…okay. Can we…take a bit of a break?" Kasumi asked. They were now jogging at a steadier pace through the park.

Jaden would have replied if he hadn't run into someone at that moment. Kasumi, unable to stop in time, ran into him, causing all three of them to fall to the ground.

"Oh, sorry, are you two all right?" Kasumi gasped.

"Your elbow's in my stomach," Jaden gasped.

"Sorry." Kasumi quickly got off Jaden who got off the person he ran into, who simply stood up.

"I'm sorry about that," Jaden said before his eyes widened when he saw who he had run into. "Wow, you're…"

_'Leave_ _it to you to run into the King of Games_,' Yubel snorted.

"You two are duelists, right?" Yugi Moto asked, not seeming concerned with the fact that two fifteen year olds had just knocked him down, and not noticing the glare Jaden had tossed at his guardian spirit.

"Uh, yeah," Jaden said uncertainly, surprised that Yugi wasn't upset, as he looked back at the King of Games.

"We're on our way to the Kaiba Dome to finish taking the entrance exams," Kasumi added.

"Is that so?" Yugi said with a gentle smile before he held out a card toward Jaden who, not having seen Yugi pulled it out, took it; it was a Winged Kuriboh card. A coo sounded and Winged Kuriboh appeared, resting on Jaden's shoulder.

"I have a feeling this belongs with you," Yugi said.

"Yeah, I think so too," Jaden said.

_'Looks_ _like another spirit has joined the family_,' Yubel said.

"You two should get going," Yugi said. "You don't want to be late. Good luck, both of you."

"Oh right. Thanks. We'll make you proud," Jaden said.

"And sorry for running into you," Kasumi added, even though Jaden had already apologized, before the two of them began jogging away again, only barely noticing the smile and the thumbs up that Yugi gave them.

It took both of them another ten minutes to reach the Kaiba Dome, mostly because they were going slower as Jaden could hear his sister starting to wheeze, but thankfully the people with whom they were supposed to sign in were still there, though they were packing up.

"Wait," Jaden gasped as he leapt into the parking lot before dashing across the parking lot toward the table with Kasumi just behind him. "Is it too late to sign in?"

The two men and one woman exchanged glances before the woman said, "You two will be the last. Sign here and go through those doors."

"Thanks," Jaden said, taking the clipboard before signing himself and Kasumi in while Kasumi bent over, resting her hands on her knees and struggled to get her breath back.

**. . .**

Inside the Kaiba Dome, a duel that was supposed to be the last duel was wrapping up.

The applicant was a black-haired duelist in a white uniform with brown eyes; his name was Bastion Misawa and he was the student who scored the highest on the written portion of the entrance exam. He currently had 3200 Life Points and a Vorse Reader on the field (A: 1900/D: 1200) as well as a facedown card. The dueling proctor that he was facing had two monsters in Defense Mode; Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (A: 800/D: 2200) and Big Shield Guardna (A: 100/D: 2600).

"All right, new guy," the dueling proctor said. "Multiple choice; you have two monsters staring you down, do you A. throw in the towel, B. beg for mercy or C. run home to mama?"

"I choose D. none of the above," Bastion declared, revealing his Trap Card. "I activate my Trap, Ring of Destruction. With this card, I can destroy a monster on the field and we both take damage equal to its Attack Points."

A metal ring surrounded by flames appeared before encircling Vorse Raider's neck and exploding, taking out Vorse Raider and dealing damage to both Bastion and the Dueling protector.

**Proctor: 0**

**Bastion: 1300 WINNER**

"A clever move," the proctor said. "Welcome to the Academy."

Bastion bowed. "Thank you, oh wise proctor."

**. . .**

In the stands, watching the duel, Chazz Princeton—a spiky black haired boy with dark gray eyes, in a long dark blue blazer—heard one of his friends, Taiyou—say, "Wow. That guy's pretty good, huh?"

"Guess the rumors about him being some sort of whiz kid were true, huh, Chazz?" his other friend, Raizou, mused.

"He's a punk," Chazz said with a snort. "We went to Duel Prep School for the past three years. We're ready for the Academy. These kids don't know what they're getting into. But they'll learn…the hard way, the _Chazz Princeton_ way."

. . .

Jaden and Kasumi had entered the dueling arena, just in time to watch the end of the duel and Kasumi had to admit she was amazed by the clever move.

"Wow, that guy really tore it up," Jaden commented.

The spiky blue-haired boy they had come to a stop next to glanced at them. He was dressed in dark blue and had gray eyes. "Yeah, that's Bastion Misawa. They said he got a perfect score on his written exams out of all of us new applicants," he said.

"Wow, really? I only got an 85, though it was higher than I thought it would be and that's only 'cause Kas here wouldn't stop badgering me until I studied. Kas got a 95," Jaden said.

"I was not badgering you," Kasumi protested.

The boy smiled a little. "I barely made it through mine. I kinda have a thing where I get test anxiety. I don't know how I won my duel. I'm Syrus, by the way."

"I'm Kasumi," Kasumi said.

"And I'm Jaden," Jaden said. "But that means you're in, doesn't it? Congratulations." He slapped Syrus hard on the back and the smaller boy stumbled. "Kas and I'll be in too once we have our duels."

"You haven't dueled yet?" Syrus echoed.

Kasumi frowned. "No," he said.

"Oh, uh, then you two might be in trouble. I heard that Bastion's duel was the last one."

Jaden fell over while Kasumi groaned. "I blame you," she said, glaring at her adopted brother.

**. . .**

Sitting in the stands and watching the end of Mr. Misawa's duel was Doctor Vellian Crowler, Headmaster of Obelisk Blue, Vice Chancellor of Duel Academy, Techniques Professor and Department Chair; he certainly had a lot of titles. He was a tall, blond man dressed in an Obelisk Blue uniform but with gold trimming and pink ruffles on his collar, shoulders, upper chest and sleeves and he also wore crescent-shaped earrings.

"A fine batch of new students we have this year," Crowler mused; he wasn't counting the mediocre—i.e. those ranked as Slifers—students.

"Indeed," one of the teachers sitting around him said.

"Excuse me, Mister? We have two last minute applicants who have arrived to take their tests," one of the men in charge of the signing in outside said as he came to Crowler's side.

"Did you just call me Mister?" Crowler demanded.

"I'm sorry. I'm new here, Miss."

Crowler's eye twitched. "I happen to have a PhD in dueling, so it's Doctor," he snapped. "And you can just tell those truants to come back next year!"

The other teachers exchanged glances. "Ah, come on, Crowler. We've got time for two more duels," one teacher sitting behind Crowler said.

"Yeah, give 'em a chance," another teacher said.

"_Late is rude!_" Crowler snapped through gritted teeth, slamming his hands onto the table in front of him. "_I have no time for slackers!_"

His phone rang at that moment and he pulled it out of his phone. "Hello, who may I…?" he began after answering the call.

"_Crowler, it's Sheppard_," the voice of Chancellor Sheppard sounded on the other end; how he knew to call at that exact moment, no one will ever know.

"Oh, Chancellor Sheppard, how nice of you to call," Crowler said pleasantly, which caused a few teachers to roll their eyes.

"_I wanted to call to make sure everything is running smoothly. We wouldn't want a repeat of last year, when you cut a third of the applicants because they called you 'mister' or 'missus'. Just makes sure everyone gets their fair shot_."

Grinding his teeth together, Crowler said, "Of course, Chancellor," before ending the call, standing up and adding to the teachers, "If you'll excuse me, I will be right back."

"But who will be the applicants' dueling proctor and which examination deck will be used?" one teacher asked.

"Leave that to me," Crowler said with a smirk. He'd deal with these slackers himself.

**. . .**

"Hey, Bastion, tight duel!" Jaden said as Bastion sat down in front of them.

"Thank you," the black-haired duelist said politely.

"From the looks of things, you could be the second best duelist here," Jaden said.

"Hey!" Kasumi protested.

"Okay, third best."

"_Kasumi Yuki, please report to exam field four. Kasumi Yuki to exam field four_,'" a voice over the intercom said.

"Did you put my name first on the sign in sheet?" Kasumi asked.

"Maybe," Jaden said with a sheepish smile.

Kasumi sighed.

"Good luck, Kas."

"Thanks, Jay."

"Wait, if I'm third best, who's first and second?" Bastion asked.

"Me and Kasumi, of course, in that order," Jaden replied.

**. . .**

"Did he just say Yuki?" That question came from a blonde girl in the female-version of the Obelisk uniform—a white top with blue trimming, blue miniskirt, blue boots and blue fingerless gloves—her brown eyes were wide with shock. She was Alexis Rhodes.

Standing next to her was a tall dark-blue haired boy in a long, white blazer with blue trimming and gray eyes. He was Zane Truesdale, the Kaiser of Duel Academy. Though his face remained expressionless, Alexis could tell he was just as surprised as she was by the mention of that last name.

"Do you think she's related to Raiden? He did say he had two siblings," Alexis said.

"It's possible, but Yuki is a common last name," Zane said; his voice betrayed nothing of what he was feeling. He glanced at her curiously before adding, "How do you know about Raiden anyway?"

Alexis looked back at the dueling arena, knowing Zane was only asking that because this was her first year at Duel Academy, she had gone to Duel Prep School like most of those who were in Obelisk Blue—with the exception of some of the girls, who only got in because Obelisk was the only dorm with a girl's dormitory—and that was how she knew Zane, but Raiden had not gone to Duel Prep School. "He was one of Atticus's closest friends. He was the one who contacted me, told me about Atticus's disappearance and kept me updated on the search for him but he disappeared a week after my brother."

Zane nodded slowly. He only knew Raiden because of Atticus as well. "If they are related, let's see if she's as good as he was," he said.

"Considering she's going against Crowler, I'd say she needs all the help she can get," Alexis mused.

**. . .**

_I'm dueling a cross-dresser? I hope I don't lose. Yubel will probably never let me live it down,_ Kasumi thought as she gazed at the blond dueling proctor who had a duel vest on him.

"All right, test time. So what is your name?" the proctor asked.

"I'm Kasumi Yuki," Kasumi replied.

"Well, Kasumi Yuki, I am Doctor Vellian Crowler, Department Chair and Techniques Professor here at Duel Academy."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow at that but decided against responding.

"Are you ready?" Crowler asked.

Kasumi nodded, activating her duel disk. "Let's do this," she said.

"Duel!" they both called out as they drew their opening hands.

**Crowler: 4000**

**Kasumi: 4000**

"I'll start, if you don't mind," Kasumi said, drawing her sixth card. "And I'm summoning Jain, Lightsworn Paladin in Attack Mode."

She placed the card on her disk and a silver-haired warrior in silver and gold armor appeared on the field, holding her sword as if ready to attack (A: 1800/D: 1200).

"Next, I'll place one card face down and end my turn, which means I have to send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard because of Jain's effect," Kasumi added, placing one card into a card slot and then placing the top two cards of her deck to her Graveyard.

"Very well, it's my turn now," Crowler said, drawing a card. "And I think I will start out with something simple. I play the Spell Card, Confiscation." He held out the card before inserting it into a card slot. "This allows me to look at your cards and discard one of them as long as I pay 1000 Life Points."

**Crowler: 3000**

**Kasumi: 4000**

Kasumi, wondering what Crowler was playing at, watched as her four remaining cards—Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Charge of the Light Brigade, Glorious Illusion and Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon—appeared in front of Crowler.

"I'll go with the most powerful monster in your hand. Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon to the Grave," Crowler said.

_Good thing I have other monsters I could use, though I wonder why he didn't go with Glorious Illusion. Guess he doesn't see it as a threat. Big mistake, in my opinion,_ Kasumi thought as she placed the card in her Graveyard slot.

"Next, I will place two cards face down," Crowler added, slipping two cards into two of his card slots before adding, "And now I activate Heavy Storm to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field."

Kasumi shielded her face as the wind picked up and her facedown, as well as both of Crowler's, shattered into pixels. "Why'd you do that?" she wondered aloud.

"You'll find out soon enough, young scholar," Crowler said with a smug smirk.

**. . .**

"Heavy Storm? I don't think that's a test deck," Bastion said.

"Why do you say that?" Syrus asked.

"Because it's a rare card that can change the tide of a battle without serious cost."

"Uh oh, that's not good," Syrus said worriedly. "But she doesn't look worried."

"I think she's just wondering why Crowler did that," Jaden said.

**. . .**

"Crowler's using his own deck? This duel is over," Taiyou commented.

"Yeah, no one can compete against an expert's deck," Raizou agreed.

"I think I'm going to enjoy Crowler wiping the floor with this kid," Chazz said with a smirk. _Even if she is kinda cute…wait, where'd that come from?_ He thought. "I wish they treated all other second-rate duelists that apply at this academy the same way."

**. . .**

"What an elitist snob," Alexis muttered. "Bullying some kid with his very best cards."

"You're too soft, Alexis," Zane said calmly. "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare card Crowler has stashed away in that deck of his."

**. . .**

"Ready for your next lesson," Crowler asked.

"Bring it on," Kasumi said.

Dark clouds began to appear on Crowler's side of the field and two worm-like tokens appeared. "Very well, then. To continue, the two Trap Cards that were sent to the Graveyard were two Statue of the Wicked cards. Do you know what that means?" he asked.

"I get the feeling you're about to tell me what it means," Kasumi said dryly.

"Yes, I am. When they're sent to the Graveyard, I get two Wicked Tokens. I now sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to summon Ancient Gear Golem!"

The statue-like tokens vanished to be replaced by a robotic giant with working gears for joints and a single glowing red eye (A: 3000/D: 3000).

**. . .**

"That's it. That's his legendary card," Alexis gasped.

"Now it looks like we're about to find out what makes it so legendary," Zane said.

**. . .**

Jaden whistled appreciatively. "That's an awesome monster. Man, I've always wanted to take one on," he said.

Syrus stared at Jaden, shocked. "Either you're really brave or you're nuts," he said.

_'Both_,' Yubel said.

_Shut up,_Jaden thought.

**. . .**

"Ancient Gear Golem, attack her Paladin, Mechanized Melee," Crowler ordered and Kasumi shielded her face as Crowler's Golem threw a punch that caused Jain to shatter and took out some of Kasumi's Life Points.

**Crowler: 3000**

**Kasumi: 2800**

Kasumi lowered her duel disk. _Well, I'm going to have to figure out a way to get rid of that Golem, or I'm done,_ she thought.

"You're turn, Ms. Yuki," Crowler said.

Kasumi drew a card. _Okay, since Ancient Gear Golem can deal piercing damage, if he attacks Ryko, I'll lose. And yet I'll be able to activate Ryko's effect before he's destroyed but after damage calculation. But I'll need to make sure I still have Life Points if I wanna stand a chance at winning._

"I'm going to start by activating the Spell Card, Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase my Life Points by 1000," she said, placing the card on her disk and she was surrounded by a blue light as her Life Points increased.

**Crowler: 3000**

**Kasumi: 3800**

"Then I'll place a facedown and Set one monster in facedown Defense Mode and end my turn," she finished.

_What is she planning?_ Crowler wondered as he drew a card. "Go, Ancient Gear Golem, attack her facedown monster, Mechanized Melee," he ordered. "And since the monster's in Defense Mode, you're inflicted with piercing damage."

_Good thing I increased my Life Points then_**,** Kasumi thought, shielding herself as Golem's fist slammed into her facedown card and flipping it up.

**Crowler: 3000**

**Kasumi: 1000**

"Ready to give up? I'll definitely understand. I mean, the Academy's not for everyone," Crowler said with a sneer.

"I don't give up. Besides, I knew you were going to do that," Kasumi said, lowering her duel disk and Crowler frowned. "And I also know about your Golem's ability. I can't activate any Spell or Trap Cards until after the Damage Step but I can activate monster effects and that's what I'm going to do. When Ryko is flipped up, his Special Ability activates after damage calculation and before he's destroyed, allowing me to target one card on the field and destroy it and I choose your Ancient Gear Golem!"

Crowler as well as the majority of the audience gasped as a light surrounded Crowler's Golem and he exploded followed soon after by Ryko.

**. . .**

"Pure luck!" Chazz exclaimed, surprised to find the pretty amateur destroy Crowler's best and most powerful monster.

"Maybe this girl is better than we think she is," Taiyou suggested tentatively.

"Shut up. She got lucky," Chazz growled.

**. . .**

"Impressive move. She sacrificed one of her monsters to take out Crowler's best monster," Alexis mused.

"But she has to discard three cards from her deck now. If she is not careful, she'll deck out, but she doesn't seem in danger of that right now," Zane said.

Alexis nodded, knowing that was one of the drawbacks of a Lightsworn deck.

**. . .**

"Clever," Bastion said with a nod. "She knew that if Crowler's Golem had attacked her facedown monster, it would have ended the duel so she prepared herself and then sacrificed one of her monsters to take out Crowler's Golem."

_'That_ _is one of the drawbacks of Ancient Gear Golem. No Spell or Trap cards can be activated during the Battle Phase, but it says nothing about monster effects_,' Yubel mused.

"Dr. Crowler doesn't look too happy," Syrus said.

"He did just lose his best monster. I'm not surprised," Bastion said.

**. . .**

"Of course, now I have to discard the top three cards of my deck," Kasumi said before proceeding to do just that.

Crowler coughed. _Impressive but she's still not passing,_ he thought.

"I'll place one card face down and end my turn," he said.

"My draw and I activate Card of Sanctity so that we both draw until we have six cards in our hands," Kasumi said, playing the Spell before drawing four more cards while Crowler drew five.

"Then I activate my facedown, Glorious Illusion," she added, revealing her Trap Card depicting a female Lightsworn monster surrounded by light. "This card allows me to Special Summon a Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode. I choose Jain, Lightsworn Paladin." A moment later, a cylindrical cone of light appeared and the silver-haired warrior reappeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1200).

"But I'm not done. Now, I sacrifice Jain in order to summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel," Kasumi added and Jain vanished to be replaced by a beautiful blue-haired woman with large white wings and white gloves carrying a staff with a sun topping it (A: 2300/D: 200).

"And because I sacrificed the monster I summoned with Glorious Illusion, that card is destroyed as well," Kasumi added.

_Now I won't have to send cards to my Graveyard during my End Phase, not that in matters since this duel's over,_ she thought.

She smiled as she added, "Looks like this duel's over."

"It is not," Crowler said with a scowl.

"Oh it is. I activate Celestia's Special Ability. Since I summoned her by tributing a Lightsworn Monster, I'm allowed to send the top four cards of my deck to my Graveyard, target up to two cards you control and destroy them. Since you only have one, that'll have to do." She placed four cards into her Graveyard slot before Celestia pointed her staff toward Crowler's facedown card and it shattered into a dozen pixels.

"Doesn't matter, you slacker. Your monster doesn't have enough Attack Points to take me out. Such an amateurish mistake," Crowler sneered.

"By herself, she can't take you out, Dr. Crowler," Kasumi agreed.

_He did__not__just call me a slacker! We were only a few minutes late!_ She thought angrily before taking a deep breath to calm herself. The last thing she needed was to lose her temper; while her gift seemed only to work with FIRE-attribute monsters, that didn't mean she couldn't accidentally make a monster with a different attribute's attack a bit hotter than it was supposed to be.

"But when I activate Rush Recklessly, she will," she added after she calmed down. She placed the card on her duel disk and Celestia was surrounded by a faint silvery glow as her Attack Points increased (A: 2300-3000/D: 200).

"Now go, Celestia, attack Crowler directly with Celestial Strike," Kasumi ordered and Crowler shouted as a beam of light shot from Celestia's staff and slammed into him, sending him flying to the ground.

**Crowler: 0**

**Kasumi: 1000**

_I don't understand! She's a slacker! And she beat me!_Crowler thought, shocked.

"I passed, right?" Kasumi asked as Crowler got to his feet.

_I won,__so I better have,_ she thought.

The teacher just glared at her before stalking off.

"I'll take that as a yes."

**. . .**

_She's still an amateur,_ Chazz thought. _That was pure luck. No one can beat Crowler's deck._

"Guess she's better than we thought she was," Raizou mused.

"She got lucky," Chazz growled.

**. . .**

"Way to go, Kasumi. You won," Syrus said as Kasumi rejoined them in the stands.

_'Very_ _good duel_,' Yubel said.

"Yeah, that was a sweet match," Jaden said.

"_Jaden Yuki, please report to exam field three, Jaden Yuki to exam field three_," the voice over the intercom said.

"Good luck, Jay," Kasumi said.

"Ah, I don't need it. It's what I do best, after all," Jaden said before he left the stands.

_'Don't_ _get cocky, Judai_,' Yubel ordered.

Jaden scowled at the use of his first name, even though he really should be used to it by now. _Fine, fine. I wonder who my opponent is,_ he thought as he made his way into the exam field, slipping the duel disk onto his arm as he did so. Imagine his surprise when he found out he would be facing Crowler too.

_'Ten_ bucks _says he tries to pay you back for his defeat at the hands of Kasumi_,' Yubel said.

_Fool's bet,_ Jaden thought. _'Cause I'm positive that is what he's going to do._

**. . .**

"Another Yuki?" Alexis mused. "Wonder if they're all related."

"It's possible," Zane said.

**. . .**

"How much do you wanna bet Crowler's going to take out his loss to me on Jaden?' Kasumi mused.

"I won't take that bet as I'm sure they will. You two have the same last name but don't look alike. Are you related?" Bastion asked curiously.

"Not by blood. I was adopted into Jaden's family," Kasumi said.

"Oh."

**. . .**

"So, son, what is your name?" Crowler asked once he and the second of the two latecomers were standing across from each other.

"Jaden Yuki," Jaden replied calmly.

"Very well. As you likely already know, I am Doctor Vellian Crowler, Department Chair and Techniques Professor," Crowler said.

"Yeah, I know. I really did think you were the mascot, though," Jaden said with a shrug.

Yubel rolled her eyes but there was amusement in them while Crowler's eye seemed to twitch.

"Yes, well, are you ready for your test?" he asked.

"Get your game on, teach," Jaden said, activating his duel disk.

"Don't tell me what to do," Crowler muttered, also activating his duel disk.

"Duel," they both declared as they drew their opening hands.

**Crowler: 4000**

**Jaden: 4000**

"I will be going first this time," Crowler said, drawing his sixth card. "And I will start out by playing the Field Spell, Geartown." He slipped the card into the Field Spell slot and the arena changed. Now they were in a city of spinning gears and gear-shaped buildings.

"And, because of this Field Spell, I can summon an Ancient Gear monster with one less sacrifice. Since my Ancient Gear Beast only needs one sacrifice, I can summon him directly to the field without one," Crowler added, placing the card on his duel disk. A robotic canine with gears for joints, long sharp front teeth and yellow eyes appeared on the field (A: 2000/D: 2000).

"And then I'll end my turn with that," Crowler said.

"All right, my turn," Jaden said, drawing his sixth card before he examined it. He smiled a little before glancing at Yubel. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Yubel smiled. _'Let's_ _do it_,' she said.

"I think I'll start out by playing Polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Sparkman in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant," Jaden declared.

Two monsters—a giant made out of clay with a small red head and a warrior clad in blue-and-gold armor—appeared on the field before they fused together. They were replaced by a giant man in golden armor with a sphere of crackling blue energy in his chest (A: 2400/D: 1500).

"And then I'll activate Thunder Giant's Special Ability. By discarding one card, Thunder Giant can destroy one monster on the field so long as their original Attack Points are less than his," Jaden said with a smile before discarding one of his cards and pointing to Crowler's Ancient Gear Beast. "Take out his Ancient Gear Beast, Thunder Giant."

_'Right_ _away, Jaden_,' Thunder Giant declared before sending a bolt of lightning toward Ancient Gear Beast and it shattered into a dozen pixels.

"And what makes this move even sweeter is the fact that Thunder Giant still has his attack. Go, attack Crowler directly," Jaden ordered and Thunder Giant nodded before unleashing another blast of lightning that slammed into Crowler and sent him skidding backwards.

**Crowler: 1600**

**Jaden: 4000**

"And I'm not done," Jaden said before he held out the card he drew at the beginning of his turn. "Now I activate the Spell, De-Fusion to separate Thunder Giant back into Sparkman and Clayman."

Thunder Giant vanished to be replaced by the giant monster made out of clay (A: 800/D: 2000) and the blue-and-gold armored warrior (A: 1600/D: 1400).

Crowler's eyes widened. "No!" he cried.

Jaden smirked. "Now I have two more monsters that can now wage a direct attack. Sparkman, attack Dr. Crowler directly with Static Shockwave," he ordered.

_'As_ _you command_,' Sparkman said before unleashing a burst of static electricity that slammed into Crowler and sent him flying to the ground.

**Crowler: 0**

**Jaden: 4000**

"And that's game," Jaden said, giving Crowler a two finger salute. "So, does this mean I'm in?"

_How could that slacker beat me on his first turn?_ Crowler raged silently. _If I had a card that could've stopped that attack then this wouldn't have happened. That slacker got lucky. That's all there is to it._

He pushed himself to his feet and stalked off.

"Uh, teach?" Jaden said but Crowler ignored him as he left the exam field.

**. . .**

"He defeated Crowler on his first turn?!" Taiyou exclaimed.

"He got lucky," Chazz grunted though he, too, was surprised that Crowler had been defeated by an amateur on his first turn.

**. . .**

"An FTK against someone like Crowler. That's impressive," Alexis said.

Zane nodded in agreement, mildly impressed. "He must have drawn the cards he needed right away. That doesn't happen often," he said.

"I think both he and his sister, if Kasumi is his sister, do have futures here, don't you?" Alexis asked.

Zane didn't respond and simply walked off.

**. . .**

"I can't believe he beat Crowler on his first turn," Syrus exclaimed. "But yay, he won!"

_Nice. I could use some good competition,_ Bastion thought.

"Congratulations, Jaden," Kasumi said as Jaden joined them in the stands. "I'm surprised you did an FTK, though."

Jaden shrugged. "I had the cards to pull it off so I decided to go for it," he said.

_Didn't get a chance to use Winged Kuriboh but oh well, next time,_he thought.

"Looks like we're both in, though," Kasumi said with a smile.

"I told ya we'd get in," Jaden said, smiling back.

_And now I'll be able to see if I can find any clues as to what happened to my brother,_he thought.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was the first chapter of my brand-new **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! GX **_**story**

**Darth: cool**

**Jaden: who are you?**

**Blaze: no one, Judai**

**Jaden: don't call me that!**

**Blaze: (chuckles)**

**Crowler: what is going on?**

**Blaze: (pushes Crowler into pit of magma) the next chapter will cover some things concerning the Supreme King/Haou, introduce EndlessNight025's OC and cover the incomplete first duel between Jaden and Chazz**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: yup. I hope that you enjoyed this first chapter, and I hope that you enjoyed that I made it different from the episode. As always, reviews are much appreciated.**


	2. Welcome to Academy Island

**Wow, six reviews on the first chapter? Most I've ever gotten on a **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**_** story. I would like to thank **_**iloveyugiohGX93, Nightshadoe07, SuperNeos2, DarkZorua100, XT3100 **_**and**_** Cyrus-The-Great**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest. **

**Also, as always, thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being a great beta-reader.**

**Here is chapter 2, where I actually managed to change another canon duel, and I hope you like it; reviews are much appreciated.**

**2**

**Welcome to Academy Island**

The new students were supposed to be taking a helicopter to Academy Island, as that was the quickest way. However, something went wrong with the engines to the helicopter, making it unable to fly, so the teachers were forced to find other means to get the new students to the island. An all-expense paid cruise was what they decided on and Jaden knew Kasumi was happy and so was Yubel, though she seemed a little _too_ happy.

_'This_ _was not my fault,_' Yubel said firmly, appearing next to Jaden's bed. He had already made his way into the cabin he had been given and was lying down on his bed, not looking through the box he, like all the other new students, had been given yet.

Jaden lifted his head with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?" he asked with a smirk.

_'Yes,__I'm sure. Engines malfunction all the time,_' Yubel said with a snort.

"No, they don't." Jaden rested his head on his pillow before resting an arm over his eyes as he closed them.

_'It_ _doesn't matter. You might as well just enjoy the cruise,_' Yubel said before she vanished and the door to the cabin opened.

"Oh, hey, Jaden!" Syrus greeted Jaden as the taller boy rolled onto his side to look at the spiky-haired boy he had met at the Kaiba Dome.

"Hey, Syrus," Jaden said, sitting up and watching as Syrus placed his box on his bed before he began looking through it, pulling out a red blazer and uniform, a shiny new Academy-issued duel disk and a PDA. The red blazer immediately indicated that Syrus had been placed in the Slifer Red Dorm.

"I've never been on a cruise before," Syrus said, putting the blazer back into his box before sitting down beside it. "Have you?"

"Been a while."

"Oh. Aren't you gonna look through your stuff?"

Jaden glanced at his box before shrugging and lifting it onto his bed. He looked through it and noticed that he got the same things that Syrus got, including the same colored uniform.

'_I_ _hate that color,_' the voice said; it was the same voice that has spoken to Jaden ever since his powers were awakened.

When Jaden had been told by Yubel that he was the reincarnation of the Supreme King, he never expected to learn that he also harbored the Supreme King's spirit within him and that, occasionally, the spirit would talk to him. Yubel explained that when his powers were awakened, so was the spirit. Basically speaking, the spirit of the Supreme King was like a spiritual partner that resided in Jaden's head, though that still didn't make much sense.

Jaden had termed it split-personality, especially since the Supreme King's—or Haou, as he was called in Jaden's past life—personality was different from his own, though that still didn't exactly explain everything.

Yubel, appearing beside Jaden's bed again, rolled her eyes while Jaden decided to just darken the blazer so as to not hear Haou complain about it again, but he would do it later when Syrus wasn't there. Yubel could hear Haou's words just like Jaden could. This came from being Jaden's guardian spirit and the connection that connected them, and connected her with Haou in Jaden's past life. '_I_ _thought you were going to sleep for a bit longer,_' she said.

_'Jaden_ _only said to sleep until after he passed the entrance exams. He passed the entrance exams,_' Haou snapped back.

"Hey, looks like we have the same uniform," Syrus mused.

"Yeah, that means we're in the same dorm," Jaden said, ignoring the bickering that was occurring between his guardian spirit and his spirit partner; there really was no other way to describe Haou as that was, essentially, what he was.

"It does?"

"Uh huh." Jaden stood up before stretching. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna track down my sister and go swimming. Wanna come?"

"Oh, uh, sure," Syrus said, also getting to his feet.

'_…irritating little guardian,_' Haou was saying.

'_I_ _am not irritating and I am not little,_' Yubel snapped back.

_'Whatever. You're only here to make sure I don't go off the deep-end again, aren't you?_' Haou said and Jaden pictured him sneering from within his soul room, which was what the area in Jaden's mind that Haou had claimed for himself.

'_I_ _don't trust you, Haou,_' Yubel said coolly.

_'I'm_ _wounded,_' Haou said sarcastically. _'And_ _here I thought my oldest and best friend really did trust me._'

_'You_ _lost all right to that trust after what happened._'

_'You_ _know as well as I do that it wasn't my fault!_'

_Guys, will you please stop arguing? I'm starting to get a headache,_ Jaden thought.

Haou grumbled but fell silent.

_'If_ _I could figure out a way to shut him up permanently, I would,_' Yubel muttered.

Jaden cast a sidelong glance at his guardian spirit. _No,__you wouldn't 'cause you know he's the only one out there who knows exactly what I'm going through 'cause he went through the same exact thing, _he thought.

Yubel let out a frustrated sigh. _'Yes, I know,_' she said but fell silent. Just because she knew that didn't mean she liked it.

Jaden knew that something happened in his past life that caused the strong friendship that had existed between Yubel and Haou to weaken considerably, but neither Yubel nor Haou would tell him what had happened. He only got bits and pieces and still didn't know the full story behind what happened in his past life; Yubel had told him that she was revealing the full story slowly to avoid overwhelming him and she had only started doing that when Jaden was eleven. That meant there was a lot Jaden still didn't know.

He and Syrus found Kasumi soon after they changed into their swim trunks and left their room. She was just climbing out of the pool and wrapping a towel around her body when they joined her. "Hey, Jay, Syrus," she greeted them.

"Hey, Kas," Jaden said, sitting down beside his sister as she took a seat with her feet dangling in the pool.

"Man, this is the first time I've ever been on a cruise," Kasumi said, smiling brightly. "I'm actually glad the engines to the helicopter malfunctioned."

"You've never been on a cruise before?" Syrus asked as he sat down beside Jaden.

"Nope," the Lightsworn duelist said, shaking her head before glancing at Jaden, who was relaxing back on his elbows, eyes turning to gaze up at the sky, before following his gaze. "What're you looking at, Jay?"

"I dunno, clouds I guess," Jaden said with a shrug. He glanced at Kasumi before smiling. "Remember when we used to just hang out on the roof with Raiden, looking at clouds?"

"Yeah."

"Who's Raiden?" Syrus asked, looking curious.

Jaden's expression went downcast and he sighed. "He's my older brother," he said softly but said nothing more.

Kasumi examined Jaden for a moment before she suddenly smirked. Yubel, who was floating behind them, shook her head, knowing what was coming and she was right. A moment later, Kasumi proceeded to push Jaden right into the pool.

Sputtering as he swam to the surface, Jaden glared at his sister. "Hey!" he protested.

Kasumi grinned. "Payback," she said.

"That was three years ago!"

"So? I told you I'd get you back."

Jaden scowled, but his eyes glimmered with amusement.

**. . .**

Kasumi wandered around the cruise ship later that day. It was just after lunchtime and she knew that her adopted brother was still in the dining hall. She was still a bit insecure about her place in Jaden's family and that was the only reason why she called Jaden her 'adopted' brother in her mind. She still didn't feel completely part of the Yuki family and still harbored a small kernel of fear that she would eventually screw everything up and lose the family she had come to love as her own.

Sighing, she came to a stop near the railing and peered at the water that glistened in the sunlight beneath her, ripples spreading out as the cruise ship glided across its surface. Crossing her arms across the railing, she leaned against it and tilted her head to gaze at the sky, the wind causing her hair to fly into her face.

"Hey."

Kasumi turned as a girl flipped to her feet nearby. She was of average height with long light blonde hair tied in a ponytail hanging over her shoulder and gray eyes. Like Kasumi, she was dressed in the traditional female Obelisk uniform, though she had black leggings under the skirt. Her voice held a thick Russian accent.

"Hi," Kasumi said politely.

"You're one of the duelists who beat Dr. Crowler, aren't you?" the girl said.

"Yeah, my brother's the other one."

"So you two are related? I thought you were 'cause you had the same last name and all," the girl said. "I'm Arina, by the way."

"Kasumi!"

"And I'm Kasumi," Kasumi said before glancing over her shoulder as Jaden jogged across the deck to join her. "What, Jaden?"

"What? I can't come and say hi to my favorite sister?" Jaden asked, a look of mocking hurt on his face.

"I'm your only sister."

Arina giggled. "You're cuter up close, Jaden," she said.

Kasumi had to laugh when Jaden's cheeks reddened a little. "Uh, well, just wanted to check up on ya," he said. "And stop laughing."

"Sorry," Kasumi said, though she did not sound at all apologetic. "But seriously, why are you here? I would've thought you would've eaten everything in the dining hall before you left."

Jaden shrugged. "Someone rather pointedly reminded me of the last time I did something like that," he said. "I'm not about to repeat that mistake. By the way, I never did get your name." He directed that statement at Arina.

"I'm Arina," Arina said with a smile before glancing at Kasumi. "I actually did come by for a reason. You beat Crowler so I want to see just how good you are. What do you say about a duel?"

"I don't have my…" Kasumi broke off when Jaden held out his duel disk to her. She took it before glancing at him and shaking her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because you know me," Jaden said.

"That was a rhetorical question." She turned her gaze to Arina. "Well, I'm ready when you are."

Arina nodded before back-flipping until they were the correct distance away from each other. Then she activated her duel disk and inserted her deck. "All right, let's do this," she said.

Kasumi activated her brother's duel disk and inserted her own deck.

"Good luck, Kas," Jaden said, moving so that he was out of the way but could also see the entire duel.

"Let's duel!" Kasumi and Arina declared, drawing their opening hands.

**Arina: 4000**

**Kasumi: 4000**

"I'll go first," Arina said, drawing her sixth card. "And I'm starting off by summoning Dunames Dark Witch in Attack Mode."

She placed the card on her duel disk and a small fairy with white wings on her back and on either side of her head appeared on the field. She had white gloves covering her hands and white boots with red-and-white armor and white shoulder plates; her hair was short, straight and purple and her eyes were the same color as her hair (A: 1800/D: 1050).

"Then I'm playing the Continuous Spell, Burden of the Mighty," Arina added, placing a card depicting a nest and two blue chicks in a red-and-gold box with a hand reaching toward it.

"Okay, what does that do?" Jaden asked curiously from where he was sitting cross-legged with his back to the railing; Kasumi hadn't even seen him move.

"It causes my monsters to lose 100 Attack Points times its own Level," Kasumi said.

"Oh."

"I'll end my turn with that," Arina said.

"My turn then," Kasumi said, drawing a card. "And I summon Ehren, Lightsworn Monk to my field in Attack Mode."

She placed the card on her duel disk and a dark-skinned woman with dark-brown braids in white-and-gold armor with a red skirt and white boots carrying a staff with glowing yellow ends appeared on the field (A: 1600-1200/D: 1000).

"And then I equip her with Lightsworn Sabre, which increases her Attack Points by 700," Kasumi added, placing a card depicting a purple and gold staff and a blue saber crossing each other. As she did so, the staff Ehren was wielding began glowing with an inner purple light (A: 1200-1900).

"Go, Ehren, attack her Dunames Dark Witch, Light Kick Strike," Kasumi ordered and Ehren leapt into the air before kicking the purple-haired fairy and striking her with her staff at the same time, causing her to shatter into a dozen pixels.

**Arina: 3900**

**Kasumi: 4000**

"Sweet move," Jaden complimented as Arina lowered her duel disk, which she had used to shield herself.

"Next, I'll place one card face down and end my turn, which means I have to send the top three cards of my deck to my Graveyard," Kasumi said before selecting the top three cards of her deck and placing them in her Graveyard.

"A good move, Kasumi. My turn," Arina said, smiling as she drew a card. "And I'll start by retuning Dunames Dark Witch to my field with Monster Reborn." A moment later, the purple-haired fairy reappeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1050).

"Next, I use my Normal Summon to summon Freya, Spirit of Victory to my field in Attack Mode," Arina added and a pale-purple haired girl with red pom-poms and a rose in her hair appeared on the field (A: 100/D: 100).

"Not only can't Freya be targeted for attack since I have another Fairy on the field, but she also gives all Fairy-Type monsters, including herself, 400 more Attack and Defense Points," Arina added as Freya cheered (Freya A: 100-500/D: 100-500 Dunames A: 1800-2200/D: 1050-1450).

"Now, Dunames Dark Witch, attack Ehren," Arina ordered and the purple-haired fairy unleashed a beam of red-gold light that struck Ehren and caused her to shatter and Kasumi to shield her face from the pixels.

**Arina: 3900**

**Kasumi: 3700**

"And now, Freya, attack directly," Arina ordered and Freya cheered again, unleashing her attack and striking Kasumi's duel disk, knocking out some more of her Life Points.

**Arina: 3900**

**Kasumi: 3200**

"Then, I'll play one card face down and end my turn," Arina said, placing a card on her duel disk.

Kasumi lowered her disk. "Nice move," she said as she drew a card. "And I'll start off my turn by activating my Trap, Call of the Haunted."

"And I activate my Trap, Royal Decree, which negates all Trap cards, except for this one," Arina said, revealing her face down and Kasumi scowled as her trap's effect was negated.

"Damn," she muttered. "All right, then I'll just Set this card in facedown Defense Mode and place one card face down. That's it."

Arina drew another card. "I summon Fairy Archer to my field in Attack Mode," she said. A small fairy with red and gold wings and reddish-brown hair dressed in a purple tank-top with a skirt made from leaves, purple tights and dark purple boots appeared on the field, bow and arrow held in her hands (A: 1400-1800/D: 600-1000).

"And then I activate Fairy Archer's Special Ability," Arina said. "During my Main Phase, I can inflict 400 points of damage to you for every face-up LIGHT monster I control and I currently control three, which means you take 1200 points of damage."

Fairy Archer pointed her bow and arrow at Kasumi before releasing it; the arrow shot forward and struck Kasumi in the gut, sending her skidding backwards a foot.

**Arina: 3900**

**Kasumi: 2000**

"And they still have their attacks, though Archer can't use hers because she used her effect. Dunames Dark Witch, attack her Set monster," Arina ordered and her monster aimed a beam of red-gold light at the facedown, causing it to flip upwards.

"You activated Ryko's Special Ability because you flipped him up," Kasumi said. "Now I can choose one card on the field and destroy it." She pressed her lips together as she thought about which one to use. On one hand, if she chose Freya, Arina's other monsters would lose the power boost she gave them but if she chose Royal Decree then she could use traps again. She decided to go with the monster; she could always take care of the Trap later.

"I choose to target and destroy Freya," she added and Freya, with a cry, shattered followed by Ryko (Dunames A: 2200-1800/D: 1450-1050 Archer A: 1800-1400/D: 1000-600).

"Of course, now I have to send the top three cards of my deck to my Graveyard," Kasumi added, removing those cards and putting them into her Graveyard slot.

"I guess I'll end my turn," Arina said brightly. She didn't seem fazed by the fact that she lost one of her monsters.

"My turn then," Kasumi said, drawing a card before tucking it in with her other cards. "And I summon Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior to my field in Attack Mode."

A muscular man in white-and-gold armor, carrying a white-and-gold axe in his hands with spiky black hair appeared on the field (A: 1850-1450/D: 1300).

"And then I activate the Spell, Rush Recklessly to give my warrior 700 more Attack Points," Kasumi added, placing the card on her duel disk as a silvery glow surrounded Garoth (A: 1450-2150).

"Garoth, attack her Archer, Light Axe Cut," Kasumi added and Garoth darted forward, slamming his axe into Fairy Archer, causing her to cry out as she shattered.

**Arina: 3150**

**Kasumi: 2000**

"I'll end my turn with that," Kasumi said (Garoth A: 2150-1450).

Arina drew a card. "I'll start my turn by summoning Spirit of the Harp in Defense Mode," she said and a green-haired spirit in a yellowish brown robe appeared on the field, hands resting on the harp in front of her (A: 800/D: 2000).

"And then I'll have Dunames Dark Witch attack your warrior," Arina added and Kasumi gritted her teeth as the red-gold beam from the purple-haired fairy struck Garoth and destroyed him.

**Arina: 3150**

**Kasumi: 1650**

"Come on, Kas, you can still win," Jaden called encouragingly.

"I know that," Kasumi said, rolling her eyes.

Jaden raised an eyebrow before looking at Yubel. "And you say I'm cocky," he said quietly to avoid being overheard by Arina, though Kasumi could hear him clearly.

_'You_ _are_,' Yubel replied.

"I end my turn," Arina said.

"My turn then," Kasumi said, drawing a card. "And I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Royal Decree." A small tornado appeared on the field before destroying the Trap Card on Arina's side of the field.

"And, with Royal Decree outta the way, I'm activating Glorious Illusion to special summon Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon from my Graveyard," Kasumi added revealing a card depicting a Lightsworn monster surrounded by light.

"What? That monster wasn't sent to the Graveyard," Arina protested.

"It was, when I discarded those three cards because of Ehren's effect," Kasumi said as a circle of light appeared on the field and vanished, leaving behind a large creature that looked more like a Pegasus than a dragon, with a long golden mane, golden tail and white wings with a dragon's head (A: 2000-1400/D: 1600).

"And another thing, my dragon gains 300 Attack and Defense points for each Lightsworn monster with a different name that's in my Graveyard. Right now, I have three, so he gains 900 Attack and Defense Points," Kasumi added as a glow surrounded her Pegasus-like dragon (A: 1400-2300/D: 1600-2500).

"Now, Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon, attack her Dunames Dark Witch with Light Stream Blast," she ordered and her dragon roared before unleashing a beam of bright energy from his maw and destroying Arina's Dark Witch.

**Arina: 2650**

**Kasumi: 1650**

"I'll end my turn now, which means I have to send the top five cards of my deck to the Graveyard, because of Gragonith's Special Ability and because of Glorious Illusion," she added before doing just that.

"My turn," Arina said, drawing a card before looking at it. "And I'll pass."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. _What's she up to?_ She thought as she drew a card. "Okay then. I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin to my field in Attack Mode." She placed the card she just drew on her duel disk and the silver-haired warrior in the gold-and-silver armor appeared on the field (A: 1800-1400/D: 1200). "Now, Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon, attack her Spirit of the Harp. Oh and when he attacks a monster in Defense Mode, you take piercing damage."

Arina shielded her face as Gragonith's beam of light struck Spirit of the Harp, causing her to shatter.

**Arina: 2350**

**Kasumi: 1650**

"Now, Jain, attack Arina directly," Kasumi ordered and Arina yelped as Jain's sword struck her, sending her to the ground.

**Arina: 950**

**Kasumi: 1650**

"And I'll end my turn with that, which means I have to send the top seven cards of my deck to my Graveyard because of Gragonith's and Jain's effects and because of Glorious Illusion," Kasumi added, doing that as well. She paused before adding, "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. This is getting to be a good duel," Arina said, flipping to her feet and grinning brightly, looking cheerful for someone with less than a thousand Life Points left.

"Besides, it's my turn now and time for me to bring out one of my best monsters," she added as she drew a card. "Because I have exactly four Fairy-Type monsters in my Graveyard, I'm allowed to Special Summon this card from my hand; my Archlord Kristya."

Kasumi's eyes widened as a beam of white light shot down onto Arina's side of the field and, when the light faded, a tall figure in white armor with white gauntlets on the ends of which were wings and large red wings on its back was left standing on the field (A: 2800/D: 2300).

"Next, I activate Kristya's Special Ability. I can target one Fairy-Type monster in my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Freya," Arina added, removing the card from her Graveyard. "I'll then summon her to my field in Defense Mode." The pale-purple haired fairy from earlier reappeared kneeling on the field (A: 100-500/D: 100-500) (Kristya A: 2800-3200/D: 2300-2700).

"3200? Whoa," Jaden said.

"Also, neither of us can Special Summon so long as Kristya's on the field," Arina added. "Now, Kristya, attack her dragon."

Kristya shot forward before destroying Gragonith, taking out some of Kasumi's life points and destroying Glorious Illusion.

**Arina: 950**

**Kasumi: 750**

"Oh man, Kas's is in a tough predicament," Jaden murmured.

Kasumi gritted her teeth. She knew Jaden was right. She didn't have many monsters, except one, that could possibly take out Kristya; not to mention, the one monster she had that could stand a chance she couldn't be summoned because of Kristya's Special Ability to negate Special Summoning.

"Come on, Kas, you can do it," Jaden said.

Kasumi smiled at her adopted brother but she wasn't feeling so sure herself.

"It's your turn, Kasumi," Arina said.

Kasumi sighed but nodded. _I might be able to still win,__but it depends on what I draw next,_ she thought before she drew a card and smiled.

"She drew something good," Jaden commented.

_'Possibly_ _what she needs to win,_' Yubel agreed.

"I sacrifice Jain, Lightsworn Paladin on my field in order to summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel to my field in Attack Mode," Kasumi said, placing the card on her duel disk and Jain vanished to be replaced by the beautiful long blue-haired angel from her duel with Crowler (A: 2300-1800/D: 200).

Arina eyed the angel warily. _Well, this isn't good,_ she thought.

"I activate Celestia's Special Ability. Now, by discarding four cards from my deck to my Graveyard, I can destroy up to two cards on the field. I choose your Archlord Kristya and your Freya, Spirit of Victory."

_Well, she certainly is good,_ Arina thought, shielding her face as Kristya and Freya were destroyed.

"Now, Celestia, attack Arina directly, Celestial Strike," Kasumi ordered and Arina was thrown backwards but did a backflip to avoid getting knocked to the ground.

**Arina: 0**

**Kasumi: 750 WINNER**

"You're good, Kasumi," Arina said, walking over to join Kasumi as Jaden pushed himself to his feet and joined his sister. "I do want a rematch, though."

Kasumi smiled. "Okay," she said.

"Sweet duel, Kas," Jaden said with a smile.

Arina chuckled. "Yeah, it was," she said. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you. Do svidaniya!" She did a cartwheel and began walking on her hands away from the adopted siblings.

"She's good. No wonder she's in Obelisk," Kasumi said.

"You're in Obelisk too, Kas," Jaden pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's only 'cause I'm a girl. I doubt I'd have been placed in Obelisk otherwise," Kasumi said.

Her adopted brother looked at her disbelievingly. "Who are you and what have you done with my arrogant little sister?" he asked.

Kasumi punched him. "I'm only a few months younger than you," she snapped.

"So? You're still my baby sister, little sis."

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Would you rather I call you baby sis?"

Kasumi glared at her adopted brother. "You are annoying," she said.

"Thank you," Jaden said brightly.

"That wasn't a compliment."

**. . .**

The rest of the trip to Academy Island went by quickly. Before long, Jaden and Kasumi were in a large lecture hall, standing with the students who had been placed in the same dorm as them. Jaden stood behind Syrus with the rest of the Slifers, only half-aware of the chattering going on around him. He did glance toward where the Obelisk freshmen were standing and spotted Kasumi talking with Arina; he was glad that she had found a friend in her own dorm. She always had trouble making friends because of her gift; a gift that Haou had told Jaden and Yubel he felt was familiar somehow.

'_I_ _either knew someone or knew of someone who had that same gift,__but I can't seem to remember who that person was,_' Haou had told them when the three of them first learned about Kasumi's power.

A moment later, the large screen that hung in front of the freshmen flickered on, revealing a bald man who looked to be in his late forties with a goatee and a red—almost maroon—blazer. "_Good morning and welcome, my students,_" Chancellor Sheppard greeted them pleasantly. "_I am Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster here, and you are the best and brightest duelists in the world."_

_'That's_ _right, feed the egos of those who's egos are already inflated enough as it is,_' Haou muttered.

_'Look_ _who's talking,_' Yubel said coolly.

Jaden pictured Haou scowling in his soul room.

"_Now, please get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I hope you find them quite comfortable, depending on how you ranked, of course,_" Sheppard added before chuckling as his image disappeared.

Later, Jaden and Syrus found themselves outside, leaning against one of the stone pillars that lined the main walkway leading to the main building. Jaden was looking through his PDA, or Duel Pilot as it was called, to find the way to the Red Dorm. Bastion walked by at that moment and Jaden looked up.

"Hey, Bastion," he greeted the Ra.

"Jaden," Bastion replied politely.

"Congrats on getting into Ra."

"Thank you."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't get into Ra, Jaden. I mean, you said you got an 85 on the written test and you beat Dr. Crowler on your first turn. Shouldn't you have been ranked as a Ra?" Syrus asked.

"That is odd. Most students who get above an 80 on the written exam and win their duels get into Ra," Bastion said.

Jaden shrugged. "I don't mind. I'll just work my way up." He pushed himself away from the stone pillar before looking at Syrus. "Come on, Sy. Let's go check out our dorm. See ya later, Bastion."

Bastion nodded and Jaden jogged off.

"Wait up," Syrus shouted, running after the other Slifer.

**. . .**

"We get our own rooms. Awesome," Kasumi said, looking at her room. It had a single, full-sized bed, a nightstand on which was a lamp, a door that led to a closet and a dresser resting on the wall across from the bed with pale-blue carpet stretching from wall to wall and large windows that allowed for a picturesque view of the lake.

Arina chuckled. "Yes, it is, as you say, 'awesome'," she said.

"And looks like we're neighbors too," Kasumi commented, looking at the Russian student. "Hey, wanna go exploring after you unpack? I mean, I'd like to get to know the campus so I don't get lost."

"All right." Arina disappeared into her room while Kasumi walked back into hers and sat down on her bed, relaxing when she realized how comfortable it was. She ran her fingers across the soft comforter as she lied down, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

_Everything's fine now. I'm at Duel Academy, a school I've always wanted to attend, I'm with my brother and I even made a friend,__but how long will it last? I mean, I already know I'm going to lose any friends I do make once they see what a freak I am, _she thought sadly. She knew that if her power was ever revealed, the only one who would stand by her was Jaden, especially now that Raiden was gone, and that was a depressing thought.

_No, I won't think like that. I'll just keep my emotions under control. If those don't get away from me then my power won't act up,_ she thought and pushed aside the cynical voice that told her it didn't matter what she did, she would still always be the loner she was at her old school.

Standing up, she left her room, intent on exploring the campus but first, she was going to familiarize herself with the Obelisk girl's dormitory.

**. . .**

"This is our dorm? It looks more like an outhouse with a deck," Syrus exclaimed in disbelief upon seeing the dorm. It was a two-story apartment-like yellow building with a red roof and a balcony sitting near a cliff that overlooked the ocean.

Jaden, on the other hand, was smiling as he leaned against the railing while Syrus walked onto the second floor to join him. "Are you kidding me, Syrus? This place is great. I mean, just check out the view," he said.

_'This_ _place_ _makes a garbage-filled alley look like a five star hotel,_' Haou sneered.

_'No_ _one asked your opinion,_' Yubel retorted, though, judging by the expression in her heterochromatic eyes, Jaden felt that she agreed with him. Of course, she was not likely to admit that out loud.

"Well, it is a pretty nice view," Syrus admitted.

Jaden nodded in agreement before leading the way toward their dorm room. "Alrighty, this is our room, Sy," he said; he had found out the two of them were roommates on his Duel Pilot.

Opening the door, he led the way into the room. The room was small with two desks on the left well, a window across from the door, a three-person bunk bed on the right wall with a small stove next to the door. The walls were pale-yellow and seemed to be peeling in some places while the floor was covered in pale-pink carpet.

'_I_ _stand by my statement,_' Haou said.

"It's pretty small, don't you think?" Syrus asked, looking around.

"Hey, you're a small guy. I like it, though. This'll be a sweet pad for our first year at the academy," Jaden said. _Though, I suppose it could be better. Hmm, if I didn't have roommates, I'd like to see if I could change the way the room looks,_ he thought.

'_I_ _think you might be able to,_' Haou said.

'_I_ _don't see why you would waste your time doing that, though,_' Yubel said.

_I was just thinking in terms of practice,_ Jaden thought.

"Yeah, kinda weird meeting up at the entrance exams, and now roommates?" Syrus said, causing Jaden to glance back at him. "You think we were connected in some past ancient life, Jaden? Like you the Egyptian Pharaoh and I the Guardian Seto or whatever?"

_'Irony, you have to love it,_' Haou said, sounding amused.

Jaden simply chuckled. "No offense, but that's just lame," he said. "They broke the mold when they made the two of us, and Kasumi."

"For very different reasons," Syrus muttered.

"We need to work on that confidence of yours," Jaden said. "But first, let's work on some lights." He walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, allowing the sun's rays to enter the room.

"Hey! Those were closed for a reason," a voice snapped, causing Syrus to jump while Jaden, who really wasn't surprised by much nowadays, just looked toward its source, which was coming from the top bunk.

"Sorry," Syrus said.

"Yeah, we didn't see you up there," Jaden said.

"Well, can you see me now?" An angry heavyset boy who looked vaguely like a koala with thick eyebrows, black hair and a big nose looked at them over the top bunk. Syrus screamed in fright while Jaden just blinked; Haou was scarier.

'_I don't know whether to be insulted or take that as a compliment,_' Haou mused.

"Will you stop your screaming?" the boy demanded, scowling. "What are you doing in my room anyway?"

"Sorry," Syrus said.

"Name's Jaden Yuki," Jaden said.

"And I'm Syrus," Syrus said.

"We're your new…" Jaden began only for the boy in the bed to turn his back to them, "…roommates?"

"Yeah, you're new, all right, so lemme tell you how things work," the boy said.

"Like when Parent's Visit is?" Syrus asked.

"Duh, like how the whole color thing works. That's the most important you have to worry about here. There are three-colored dorms here; one named after each of the Egyptian God Cards. There're the Obelisk Blue Students, the Ra Yellow Students and the Slifer Red students. Now, the Obelisks are the highest ranking students; most of 'em get into the school and their rank by really high grades while others have connections. Ras are really gifted kids that have a lot of potential and then there's us, the Red Wonders."

"The Wonders? That doesn't sound too bad. Like a group of superheroes or something," Syrus said.

The boy ignored that. "The Red Wonders as in 'I wonder how rejects like us made it even this far'. A lot of people look down on the Slifers because they're the lowest ranking students on the island, nothing but the bottom of the barrel. Oh, by the way, I'm Chumley. Nice to meet you."

_Well, I'm going to prove that theory wrong,_ Jaden thought.

**. . .**

Kasumi had been wandering around campus with Arina when they ran into a blonde Obelisk girl who introduced herself as Alexis Rhodes. "Congratulations on beating Crowler. He's a tough opponent," Alexis said.

Kasumi shrugged. "Didn't seem so tough to me," she said. "So, do you know your way around this place?"

"Somewhat. I've actually been going around trying to round up all the Obelisks for the welcome dinner," Alexis said. "I think there are a few in our duel arena. Do you wanna come with me?"

"Okay," Kasumi said with a shrug while Arina nodded and the two of them followed Alexis as she led the way toward the arena.

When they entered the arena, it was in time to see a spiky black haired Obelisk—Alexis said that his name was Chazz Princeton—glaring down at Jaden who was coolly gazing back up at him. Syrus stood next to Jaden, looking worried while two of Chazz's friends stood off to the side, looking smug.

"Well, this is certainly a motley crew," Alexis said as she walked over to stand beside the dueling platform.

"We haven't been here a full day and you're already looking for trouble, Jay," Kasumi said, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Hey, I was not looking for trouble," Jaden protested.

Chazz smirked down at Alexis. "Hey, Alexis. You come to watch me mop the floor with my new friend Jaden? I promise you it'll be a short duel, but it'll be fun too," he said.

"Yeah, especially when he kicks your ass," Kasumi sneered.

"An Obelisk sticking up for a Slifer? Will wonders never cease?" Chazz sneered. "Or are you a Slifer Slacker at heart?"

"Don't call me a slacker!" Kasumi snapped, eyes flashing. "And for your information, he's my brother, so of course I'm gonna stick up for him. Family always sticks up for family."

Chazz curled his lips but, before he could say anything to that, Alexis began speaking. "By the way, Chazz, I came to remind you guys that you're late for the Obelisks' Welcome Dinner," she said.

"Oh, yeah," Chazz said, leaping over the railing and landing lightly on the arena floor. "Come on, guys." The three Obelisks left the arena.

Alexis shook her head before glancing at the two Slifers. "Sorry about him. Not all us Obelisks are like that. Chazz is just a big jerk, _especially_ with Slifers," she said.

"Yeah, I know not all Obelisks aren't like. Kas isn't," Jaden said with a shrug. "Besides, it's no big deal."

"Huh?" Alexis looked surprised and confused.

"Those types don't really bother me," Jaden said. "Besides, I could take him down in one turn."

"Uh huh," Kasumi said.

"He did beat Crowler in one turn," Arina mused.

"Okay, two turns. Maybe two and a half," Jaden said thoughtfully while Yubel, who had appeared next to Jaden, snickered; Alexis also chuckled while Arina looked amused.

"What's so funny?" clueless Jaden asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Alexis said. "Oh, yeah, the Slifer Welcome Dinner is starting too and you don't wanna be late."

Jaden's eyes gleamed. "Oh, yeah. We'd better go before it's all gone. See ya, Kas!" Jaden didn't even wait for Kasumi to reply as he dashed off.

"Wait up!" Syrus shouted, running after him.

Jaden skidded to a stop near the doors to the arena before looking over his shoulder. "Oh, what was your name again?" he called.

Alexis blinked before she smiled. "My name's Alexis, Alexis Rhodes."

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Jaden. Well, see ya," Jaden called before he left the arena with a gasping Syrus just behind him.

"Well, we should probably get going," Alexis said to Arina and Kasumi; the two of them nodded before leaving the arena with Alexis in the lead.

**. . .**

"This is our big fancy welcome dinner?

"Forget the dinner. Look at our headmaster. It's a cat!"

If on cue, a tall, skinny man with dark hair and a pair of glasses came into the Slifer Dorm's meal hall. "Hello, children," he said with a slight German accent. "I'm Professor Banner. Before we eat, I would like everyone to say some…"

"This is great!" Jaden, who had already started to eat, much to Yubel's exasperated amusement, exclaimed.

"Jaden, I think he wanted us to say something about ourselves," Syrus said.

"Okay, how 'bout this? I'm starving," Jaden said.

_'You're_ _always starving,_' Yubel said with a snort.

Banner was walking over to join them.

"He's walking over here," Syrus warned as the headmaster came to a stop by their table. "I mean, he's…"

"Well, since some of us can't wait," Banner said. There was a slight scolding note in his friendly voice but it faded as he added, "Let's eat."

"All right," Jaden said, continuing to eat.

Later that day, Jaden and Syrus were in their dorm with Chumley when Jaden's Duel Pilot went off, indicating he had a message. Accessing the message, Jaden saw it was from Chazz and the Obelisk was challenging him to a duel in the Obelisk's arena where the winner would receive the loser's best card.

Naturally, Jaden—who never backed down from a challenge—agreed, even though Chumley told him that he was crazy to duel someone like Chazz.

Now, Jaden and Syrus were entering the Obelisk's arena they had visited earlier to find Chazz and his two friends already waiting. Chazz was standing on the duel platform while his friends were standing next to it.

"Well, well, well you showed up, Slacker," Chazz greeted him.

"Of course," Jaden said. "I never back down from a challenge. There was no way I was gonna miss this." He jumped into the dueling platform and went to one end while Chazz went to the other while Syrus stood on the sidelines.

"Now, we can see whether you beating Dr. Crowler was a fluke or a fact," Chazz said.

"Yeah and we're gonna find out something else too, which one of us is gonna be the next King of Games," Jaden added.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just be sure to hand over your best card when you lose."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lose. Now game on," Jaden said, activating his duel disk at the same time as Chazz.

"Duel," they declared as they drew their starting hands.

**Chazz: 4000**

**Jaden: 4000**

"All right, Slacker," Chazz said as he drew his sixth card. "I'll start by summoning Reborn Zombie in Defense Mode and then I'll play one card face down."

The monster that the Obelisk summoned was a zombie that looked as though it was decaying with a tattered cloak, no eyes and gray hair; the bones of one hand and one foot were showing (A: 1000/D: 1600).

Jaden drew his sixth card after Chazz signaled the end of his turn. "That's one way to start a duel but I'm going bigger," he said as he looked over his hand. "I'm starting off by playing the Spell Card Polymerization and I'll fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman."

A green hero with white wings and a gray-skinned heroine in a red bodysuit with black hair appeared on the field before they fused together to create a large red-and-green humanoid creature with one white wing on its left side and a dragon's head on its right side (A: 2100/D: 1200).

_'It's_ _been a while since I've battled,_' Flame Wingman commented.

"I said I'd start big, didn't I?" Jaden said with a smirk.

Chazz smirked. "I was hoping you would," he said.

"Why's that?" Jaden did not like Chazz's tone of voice.

The Obelisk smirked as he said, "Because you triggered my Trap. Chthonian Polymer, do your stuff," he ordered; the holographic card depicted a man wrapped in flames.

"What's Chthonian Polymer's stuff?" Syrus asked.

"I knew it! I knew we'd find you guys here!"

"Jay, I thought you said you weren't going to be looking for trouble."

"Alexis? Kasumi?' Syrus said, surprised to find Alexis, Kasumi and the familiar blonde form of Arina entering the arena.

"Chthonian Polymer is a nasty Trap Card," Alexis said. "It allows you to take control of your opponent's Fusion Monster, so long as you sacrifice one of your own."

"But, Jaden just brought out a Fusion Monster," Syrus gasped.

"This isn't going to end well…for Chazz," Kasumi said with a shake of her head.

"Why do you say that?" Arina asked.

"Let's just say Jaden does not like it when he loses his monsters."

"I figured you'd summon up another Fusion Monster, even if it isn't the one that beat Crowler. Still, it'll do. I now sacrifice my Reborn Zombie to take control of your Wingman, Slacker," Chazz said as his monster exploded and Flame Wingman, with a cry, disappeared from Jaden's side of the field to reappear on Chazz's; except, this time it was darker and surrounded by a dark aura.

_Oh he's in for it now, _Jaden thought with a growl.

_'Can_ _I…?_' Haou began.

_'No_,' Yubel said sternly.

_'Fine, just kick his ass for stealing one of your monsters,_' Haou said.

Jaden didn't respond to Haou's words as he calmed himself down, reminding himself that he could get Flame Wingman back if he played his cards right. "I still have my normal summon," he said. "And I'm summoning Elemental Hero Ice Edge to my field in Defense Mode." He placed the card on his duel disk and a child-like hero in a blue bodysuit with white gauntlets, a spiky white headdress, spiky white shoulder plates and white boots with green eyes appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 900).

_'Okay_, _I'm really confused. Why's Flame Wingman on the other side of the field?_' Ice Edge asked curiously.

_'Trap_,' Yubel replied.

_'Oh_.'

"Then, I place one card face down and end my turn," Jaden said, slipping a card into a card slot. There really wasn't else he could do.

Chazz drew another card from his deck. "My turn to knock you down," he said. "Rise, Chthonian Soldier." A warrior in dark armor, wielding a large blade appeared on the field next to Flame Wingman.

"Flame Wingman, attack his Ice Edge," Chazz ordered and Flame Wingman flew into the air but, before he could unleash his attack, Jaden pressed a button on his disk.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack, to stop the attack and end the Battle Phase," he said.

Syrus and Kasumi both released the breath they had been holding.

Chazz sneered. "Fine, I'll just place one card face down and end my turn," he said.

"My turn, then," Jaden said, drawing a card. "And I'm summoning Elemental Hero Sparkman to my field in Attack Mode," Jaden added and a warrior clad in blue-and-gold armor appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400).

"Next, I'm switching Ice Edge to Attack Mode before activating his Special Ability. Now, by discarding one card, he can attack you directly."

Ice Edge dashed forward before punching Chazz in the gut and moving back to Jaden's side of the field.

**Chazz: 3200**

**Jaden: 4000**

"Plus, when Ice Edge inflicts battle damage to you from a direct attack, I can target your facedown and destroy it," Jaden added and Chazz scowled as his facedown card was destroyed.

"Go, Sparkman, attack Chthonian Soldier, Static Shockwave," Jaden ordered and Sparkman unleashed a blast of electricity that slammed into the soldier, destroying it and conjuring up a cloud of dust.

**Chazz: 2800**

**Jaden: 4000**

Unfortunately, the soldier's curved blade suddenly flew up before sailing through the air to slam into Jaden's gut, causing him to wince in pain.

Chazz smirked. "Whenever Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you take the same amount of damage to your Life Points as I did," he said.

**Chazz: 2800**

**Jaden: 3600**

"You're still in the lead, Jay," Syrus said.

Jaden nodded. "I'll place one card face down and end my turn," he said.

"Argh, it won't make a difference, you Slifer Slime," Chazz said coolly, drawing a card. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Chthonian Soldier, but he won't stay here for long as I sacrifice him to summon Mefist the Infernal General to the field."

His soldier reappeared briefly before vanishing to be replaced by an armored man with a black cape atop an armored horse and wielding a battle axe in his hands (A: 1800/D: 1700).

"Not bad," Jaden said calmly.

"Not bad?" Chazz echoed. "You're something else, you know that, Slacker? Now, Flame Wingman, attack Jaden's Ice Edge," Chazz ordered and Flame Wingman leapt into the air again.

"Not gonna happen, Chazz. I activate my Trap, Mirror Gate," Jaden said, revealing the Trap Card on the field.

"Yes!" Kasumi cheered.

Alexis nodded. "Jaden is getting his Flame Wingman back," she said.

"Good move," Arina said.

Flame Wingman and Ice Edge, who were about to battle, suddenly switched places and Wingman destroyed Ice Edge, taking out a large chunk of Chazz's Life Points.

**Chazz: 1500**

**Jaden: 3600**

"And Flame Wingman's Special Ability now activates," Jaden said cheerfully. "Now, you lose Life Points equal to the destroyed monster's Attack Points."

Chazz's eyes widened and he shouted out in surprise when Flame Wingman appeared in front of him and flames sprouted from his dragon's head, covering Chazz in flames.

**Chazz: 700**

**Jaden: 3600**

"Huh, I guess Chazz isn't as good as he thinks he is," Kasumi mused.

"It could still be anyone's game," Arina pointed out.

"He is so good," one of Chazz's friends, who had been silent throughout the majority of the duel, shouted.

"Doesn't look like it to me. Jay's one move away from winning," Kasumi said.

Chazz scowled. "My General can still attack so go, take out his Sparkman," he ordered and his general shot forward before slamming his axe into Sparkman, destroying him.

**Chazz: 700**

**Jaden: 3400**

"And because my general inflicted Battle Damage, I can discard a random card from your hand," Chazz added and Jaden discarded one of his cards. "I'll end my turn with one facedown."

"My draw," Jaden said, drawing a card. "And Flame Wingman, attack his Infernal General, Infernal Rage." Flame Wingman unleashed his attack but, before it could connect, Chazz grinned.

"I activate my Trap, Mirror Force, which destroys your Wingman," he said, revealing the Trap and Flame Wingman's attack was redirected back at him, destroying him.

_Well, guess I'll have to try something different,_ he thought.

"I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode and end my turn," he said and a large, clay giant with a small red head appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 2000).

Chazz drew a card. "First, I summon another Chthonian Solider to my field in Attack Mode," he said before his armored man with the large, curved blade reappeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1400) "Next, I activate my facedown, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Reborn Zombie in Attack Mode," he said and the familiar decaying zombie from before reappeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1600). "And then I play the Spell Stop Defense to bring you Clayman into Attack Mode."

Clayman, unwillingly, stood up.

"Now, Chthonian Soldier, attack Clayman," Chazz ordered and his warrior attacked, causing Clayman to be destroyed and taking out some of Jaden's Life Points.

**Chazz: 700**

**Jaden: 3000**

"Reborn Zombie and Mefist the Infernal General, attack Jaden directly," Chazz ordered and his zombie and general moved or galloped forward before striking at Jaden, sending him to the ground.

**Chazz: 700**

**Jaden: 200**

"Oh no, one move and Chazz now has the advantage," Syrus cried.

"Jaden'll pull through," Kasumi said confidently. _He usually does,_ she thought.

"I'll end my turn with one facedown. Make your next move, Slacker. It'll be your last," Chazz said, slipping the card into a card slot.

Jaden got to his feet. "Man, this is too much fun," he said with a grin.

Chazz stared. "What?"

"It's exactly what I came here for, well mostly," Jaden said, reaching towards his deck to draw his next card and grinned when he saw what it was. "Yes! I have this duel…"

Alexis's eyes suddenly widened as a nervous look crossed her face. "Guys! We've got company! Campus security. If we get caught here, we're all gonna get seriously busted."

"What?" Syrus shouted.

Jaden looked at her. "What? Why? I mean, we're all students here," he said.

Alexis rolled her eyes as she pulled out her Duel Pilot. "The Rules of Duel Academy say that there's no off-hour dueling in any arena. Chazz knows this,"—she looked at the Obelisk, who turned red—"but, lemme guess, he didn't tell you."

_'If_ _I didn't already dislike him before, I really dislike him now,_' Haou muttered.

Yubel looked like she agreed.

"Come on, Chazz," one of Chazz's friends called. "Let's go."

"Fine," Chazz said with a snort before turning away from the others.

"Hey, wait, the duel isn't over," Jaden protested, wanting to finish his turn because the card he drew was his ticket to winning.

Chazz jumped off the platform and started walking away. "Yeah, it is, Slacker. I saw what I needed to see. You're a sorry duelist and you beating Crowler on your first turn was a fluke," he said.

Kasumi scowled.

"But…" Jaden began stubbornly.

"Jay, we gotta get outta here," Syrus shouted.

Kasumi jumped onto the platform and grabbed Jaden's arm. "Come on," she said, tugging at Jaden's arm.

_'Judai, move now,_' Yubel said sternly.

"Yes, Mom," Jaden said sarcastically to both Kasumi and Yubel as Kasumi half-dragged/half-guided him out of the arena.

**. . .**

Getting out of the arena hadn't been as hard as Kasumi thought it would be but that was primarily because Alexis knew the back way out. Once they were outside the main building, Kasumi let go of her adopted brother's arm.

"You sure are stubborn," Alexis said.

"Only about my dueling," Jaden said with a scowl.

"Oh, get over it. You can beat him next time," Kasumi said while Syrus shook his head and sighed.

"Anyway, thanks for showing us the back way out, Alexis," Syrus said.

Alexis smiled. "No problem. I'm just sorry that you didn't get to finish your duel with Chazz, Jaden," she said.

"Me too," Arina said.

"It's okay. I already know how it would have ended anyway," Jaden said.

The Obelisk girl raised an eyebrow. "Oh? From my point of view, it could have gone either way," she said.

"Not after I drew this," Jaden said, revealing that the card he drew before they were forced to end the duel; it was Monster Reborn.

"I would've brought back Flame Wingman, destroyed Mefist the Infernal General and his Attack Points would've been taken out of Chazz's Life Points," Jaden said.

"In other words, you would've won," Kasumi said while Alexis and Arina looked surprised.

"Yup. Well, catch ya later, Alexis, Kas, Arina," Jaden said before he waved at the three Obelisk girls and he and Syrus ran toward the Slifer Dorm.

_Well, I'm sure this is going to be one interesting year,_ Alexis thought before she, Arina and Kasumi made their way back to their dorm.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 2 and, cool, I managed to make the duel between Jaden and Chazz a little different from canon**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: yup (pulls out bazooka)**

**Palpypie: mwahahaha**

**Blaze: wrong story (blasts Palpypie with bazooka) I don't own **_**Star Wars**_** by the way**

**Darth: (laughs) so what's gonna happen next?**

**Blaze: Jaden versus Alexis, it'll likely be a short chapter**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: yup so please review and I will post chapter 3 as soon as I possibly can**


	3. The Faux Love Letter

**Thank you to **_**SuperNeos2, DarkZorua100**_** and **_**Nightshadoe07 **_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest. **

**Now, I know I said that I wasn't going to be accepting any OCs for this story, but I changed my mind, mostly because I want my beta-reader's OC to play a bigger role, as in play a part in the Shadow Rider arc. In other words, I need another Shadow Rider and I'm already busy with my two OCs and the role they are going to play in all three (possibly four) seasons. And then I thought about it and decided **_**what the heck? I'm gonna bring in two new Shadow Riders instead of one.**_

**So I'm asking for three OCs but, unlike in Genesis, this time there are a few conditions, which I will PM to whoever wishes to submit an OC. Once I get three though, I won't accept anymore for this story, though I may for season 2.**

**Once again, I would like to give a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader. Speaking of my beta-reader, she's going overseas from June 24****th**** to July 12****th**** so, unfortunately, I will be unable to update during that time. Maybe I'll be able to get more than one chapter done during that time. Who knows? (Hmph, with how much I procrastinate, I'll be lucky to get this story to the same point as **_**Genesis**_** [speaking of **_**Genesis**_**, all I can say is Writer's Block sucks!])**

**Erm, enough rambling, on to Chapter 3, which is likely going to be my shortest chapter in this entire story.**

**3**

**The Faux Love Letter**

The first day of classes found Jaden and Syrus in a large lecture hall. Normally, the classroom would have been divided with the younger years at the bottom and the upperclassmen at the top. However, because of the dorm-color ranking system that Duel Academy used, the arrangement of students was based on dorm-color. That meant that the Slifers were at the bottom, the Ras were in the middle, and the Obelisks were at the top.

Jaden was tired. He had spent the night before talking with Yubel about Haou's cards and whether he was ready to start using them or not. He knew he would have to start using them eventually, but Yubel had warned him that he shouldn't try and use all of Haou's cards right away, especially not the more powerful ones. That lesson had taken a bit longer than Jaden and Yubel had thought and had resulted in Jaden getting only a few hours of sleep. Nevertheless, he was managing to stay awake.

Once everyone was seated, the first teacher arrived and Jaden wasn't too thrilled to find out who it was.

_'It's_ _the cross dresser,_' Yubel said flatly.

"All right, everyone, be seated," Dr. Crowler said, cutting through the conversations between the students. "Listen up, because I won't repeat myself. I am your first teacher of the day, Dr. Vellian Crowler and I teach the different types of cards. Now can anyone tell me the three types of cards in Duel Monsters and their categories?" His eyes scanned the class before they landed on Alexis Rhodes.

"How about you, Ms. Rhodes?" he asked.

Alexis nodded and stood up. "Duel Monsters Cards can be grouped into Normal, Effect, Ritual, Fusion, and the Trap and Spell Cards that can also be monster or summon token monsters. Trap Cards can be grouped into Normal, Continuous and Counter while Spell Cards can be grouped into Normal, Quick-Play, Field, Continuous, Equip, and Ritual," Alexis said, loud enough to be heard by the entire class.

"Perfect! Outstanding! Of course, I'd expect nothing less from one of my Obelisks," Crowler said.

Jaden mentally rolled his eyes.

"Hmm, now who can tell me what a Field Spell is?" Crowler said, looking around before his gaze landed on Syrus. "You! Syrus Truesdale." He had startled Syrus and the boy jumped in his seat.

"Uh…a Field Spell is the…thing that…affects the thing…" Syrus stuttered, looking nervous while Jaden glared at Crowler, who looked as if he was enjoying watching Syrus squirm as he attempted to answer.

"That bastard," Kasumi said with a scowl from up with the Obelisks. "He's actually enjoying this?!"

"Even pre-duelers know the answer to this one, you Slifer Slacker," an Obelisk shouted, causing most of the Blues to laugh; Chazz smirked, Kasumi's glare intensified, and Arina and Alexis shook their heads.

"Wait, I know this one," Syrus protested over the laughter.

"Relax, Sy, you totally got this," Jaden said.

"I think not," Crowler said curtly. "Sit down." Syrus sat down. "Now, would someone else kindly tell me the answer? Preferably not someone in red, thank you." That caused everyone in Obelisk, except Arina, Alexis and Kasumi, and some of the Ras, except Bastion, to laugh.

"I blew it. I made all the Slifers look bad," Syrus said, looking downcast.

Jaden glared at Crowler. "You know something, teach?" he said coolly, glaring at Crowler as his voice cut through the laughter. "You shouldn't be making fun of the Slifers. I mean, I'm a Slifer and I beat you on my first turn. So when you make fun of us Slifers, you're making fun of yourself."

Livid, Crowler started to bite down on a handkerchief while the Slifers burst out laughing; quite a few Ras joined in and even Alexis and Arina were chuckling.

"You tell 'em, bro!" Kasumi shouted from the Obelisks.

Jaden smirked.

_That's it! I won't have this slacker in my school for another second,_ Crowler thought, fuming. _I'll see to it that he's expelled from here, permanently._

**. . .**

The next teacher that the class had was the headmaster of the Slifer Red Dorm. "All right, class. As some of you may know, my name is Professor Lyman Banner," he greeted the students. "I specialize in some of the lesser known tactics in the world of dueling; some that might be unnatural to even the experienced duelist."

Jaden was dozing off during Banner's lecture but was pulled out of it by Syrus.

"By the way," the spiky-haired little Slifer said, "thanks, Jay."

"No problem, Sy. For what?" Jaden asked tiredly.

"For sticking up for me," Syrus exclaimed loudly enough to stop Banner's lecture.

Jaden sighed when he spotted Banner looking at them. "I may have to do it again," he murmured.

"Syrus?" Banner said.

"Uh, yes?" Syrus said, standing up.

"Do me a favor and pick up Pharaoh, will you?"

"Uh, Pharaoh?"

"Unless you're thinking about minoring as a scratching post," Banner said, smiling.

Jaden watched as Pharaoh—the fat tabby cat he had seen during the Welcome Dinner—brushed up against Syrus's leg, causing everyone to laugh again.

_'Aww, it's so cute,_' Elemental Hero Knospe exclaimed, appearing on Jaden's shoulder.

Jaden glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be with your mother?" he asked.

Knospe pouted but vanished.

Syrus, looking embarrassed again, picked up Pharaoh before returning him to his owner.

**. . .**

In Crowler's office, said teacher was busy writing a letter, scowling and muttering under his breath. "How dare that Slifer slacker Jaden make a mockery of me in front of my whole class like that?" he said angrily.

He finished writing the letter before folding it and placing it in an envelope. "It'll be the last mistake he'll ever make," he muttered. He picked up a mirror before placing some red lipstick on his lips—creepy—before kissing the back of the letter and chuckling to himself.

"The big kiss-off," he said before he ran out of the classroom.

He immediately headed toward the boy's locker room, as Jaden's next class was gym. Placing the letter in what he assumed was Jaden's locker, on top of his boots, Crowler dashed out of there quickly.

**. . .**

Syrus was running late.

"Lousy girl's gym," he muttered to himself. "Why did they have to make the signs so small?"

He ran inside the gym and opened his locker, noticing that Jaden's shoes were there. "I see Jaden's still using my locker," Syrus said before frowning when he spotted an envelope falling to his feet.

"What's this?" He bent down and picked up the letter before noticing the lipstick smudge and his eyes widened. "This isn't Jaden's. Someone wrote me a letter."

As if expecting someone to see him with the letter, which wasn't likely, as everyone was in class, Syrus ducked between two sets of lockers and opened the letter, murmuring, "I wonder what it says?"

The letter read:

_From the moment I first set eyes on you, I've been in love with you. Meet me tonight in the back of the Obelisk Girl's Dormitory so I can give you a big kiss._

_Endearingly,_

_Alekis Rodes_

Syrus looked like he was about to pass out after he read that. "This is better than what my mom writes me," he exclaimed, slipping into a daydream about him and Alexis together.

**. . .**

Syrus made his way toward the Obelisk Girl's Dormitory, still looking happy at the thought of meeting Alexis. Little did he know, Crowler was hiding in the bushes near the back of the dorm, wearing a tight, black body suit that made him look creepier than normal.

_This is perfect. Thanks to that faux love letter I wrote,_ Crowler thought, going over the plan in his mind. _I'll just wait here for Jaden to come around while he searches for Alexis. And when the time's right, I'll snap a picture of him, creating evidence that will get him expelled._

Of course, his plan didn't exactly go that way when a different Slifer appeared.

"Alexis!" Syrus called out.

"That's not Jaden! It's that Field Spell nitwit," Crowler shouted. Unfortunately, his shouting attracted some unwanted attention.

"What's a boy doing here?" a girl cried out, alerting the other girls.

"I'm not a boy, I'm a man," Crowler shouted. Realizing what he did, he quickly covered his mouth and dived into the lake to avoid getting caught.

Poor Syrus was not so lucky.

**. . .**

"You're kidding, right?" Kasumi said flatly, raising an eyebrow after hearing Syrus's explanation for why he was there when he wasn't supposed to be. She, Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy, and Arina were still in their uniforms and were currently surrounding Syrus.

"Why would Alexis send you a love letter?" Arina asked.

"Just ask her, it's true," Syrus said, winking at Alexis, which caused Kasumi to sigh and roll her eyes.

"Uh, hello? Alexis is really tall, and hot, and really good at dueling, and you're not," Jasmine said shortly.

"But it's true," Syrus said, pulling out the letter. "Just read it." He held out the letter and Alexis took it while Kasumi peered at it over Alexis's shoulder.

"Syrus, my name's not even spelled right," Alexis said.

"So you don't love me?" Syrus asked.

"Wait a minute," Kasumi said with a frown before she grabbed the letter out of Alexis's hands. "This is addressed to my brother!"

"Aw, I can't even get a fake love letter," Syrus complained.

"That's not the point, Syrus," Kasumi said with a scowl, glaring at the letter. "By coming here, you could be expelled and this was addressed to Jaden. That means someone's trying to get my brother expelled." She gripped her hand into a fist before taking a deep breath to calm herself before the letter burst into flames.

"We don't even know if that's true," Jasmine protested. "He could've written that note as an excuse to come here."

"But I didn't," Syrus protested.

"Should we turn him in?" Mindy asked.

"Girls, just what is going on down there?"

Kasumi, Jasmine and Mindy immediately pulled Syrus down while Arina and Alexis moved so that they were standing over Syrus, guarding him as Ms. Fontaine, the Headmistress of the Obelisk Girl Dorm, looked over the balcony at them.

"Sorry about the noise, Ms. Fontaine," Alexis said. "We'll be sure to keep the noise down."

"Well, I sure hope so. It's nearly midnight," Ms. Fontaine said, "and I have Pilates in the morning." Without another word, she made her way back to her room and only after she was gone and they were sure she was asleep did the girls let Syrus up.

"What now?" Mindy asked.

"I'll tell you what now, girls," Alexis said, smirking. "We'll use Syrus as bait, to get Jaden over here."

"You're gonna _what_ to get _what_?" Kasumi exclaimed. She glared at Alexis before adding, "I'm not letting you do anything that'll get my brother expelled!"

_He's the only one I have left who I know will stand by me no matter what,_ she thought.

"We just wanna find out how good Jaden really is, Kasumi," Alexis said patiently.

"I don't like this," Kasumi said. "Fine, but even if you lose, you let Jaden and Syrus go. I am not going to lose my brother over something as _stupid_ as a _fake love letter!_"

Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy and Arina stared at Kasumi, startled by her sudden outburst and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I'm sorry," she said once she got control of her emotions.

"It's all right," Alexis said gently. "You really care for your brother. I can see that. If Jaden really is good then you won't have to worry about him getting expelled."

Kasumi sighed, cursing her temper. She knew that Jaden was good enough to beat Alexis but she was just worried about being left alone again, where no one would care about her, especially if her power was revealed.

"Yeah, you're right," she said softly.

**. . .**

"So you think I'll be fine with using these two," Jaden asked, picking up two of Haou's cards that were laid out on the desk. Yubel was floating beside him, studying the cards before she nodded.

_'Yes,__though I wouldn't chance using both of them at once. Use one now and then use the other at another time,_' she said.

"All right," Jaden said just as his Duel Pilot beeped. He reached over to where it was resting on the other end of the desk before opening the message.

"_We have your roommate Syrus hostage. If you want him back, come over to the girls' dorm, alone,_" a deep, mysterious voice sounded.

"Ah, what did you do, Syrus?" Jaden groaned before he got to his feet and picked up three of Haou's cards before adding them to his deck. "Well, I guess I'll get the chance to try one of 'em out a lot sooner than I had thought."

Yubel vanished as Jaden left the room.

**. . .**

Kasumi watched as Jaden made his way over to join the girls, who were standing on the bank of the lake with Syrus, who was currently tied up—"Was this really necessary?" Kasumi had asked the Obelisks earlier but they never answered—behind them.

"You came," Kasumi said.

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "How long have you known me, Kas?"

"I just thought you wouldn't risk expulsion."

"Expulsion? What the heck did you _do_, Sy?" Jaden asked, looking over at Syrus.

"Long story short, I'm a complete loser," Syrus said glumly.

"Your friend here trespassed into the girls' campus," Jasmine said.

"I told you, it wasn't like that," Syrus protested.

"Now that you're here, you're trespassing too," Mindy added.

"That's right. So if you wanna win your freedom, you'll have to beat me in a duel," Alexis said.

Jaden smirked. "I figured that," he said. "Sweet, I get to test out two of my new cards."

"New cards? When did you add new cards to your deck?" Kasumi asked with a frown.

"Oh, I've always had them, Kas. I just decided to start using some of 'em now."

"Wait"—Kasumi's eyes went wide—"You're not seriously…"

"Relax, Kas. Yubel gave me the go-head for the cards I might use. It's fine," Jaden assured his sister before glancing at Alexis.

"But we'll be expelled if you lose, Jay," Syrus cried.

"Not gonna happen, Sy. Let's throwdown, Alexis!"

**. . .**

The duel would take place on the lake. Arina offered to remain on the bank to keep an eye out for Ms. Fontaine or anyone else while Kasumi was with Syrus and Jaden in Jaden's boat, hoping that Jaden would be okay.

_But if Yubel says he'll be fine,__then I believe her. I just hope she's right,_ Kasumi thought.

Nearby, treading the water, Crowler noticed the duel that was about to commence. He was close enough to watch the duel but far enough away to not be seen. "A Slifer versus an Obelisk? Put him in his place, Alexis," he said.

"Let's duel," Jaden and Alexis declared before they drew their opening hands.

**Alexis: 4000**

**Jaden: 4000**

"Get your game on, Alexis," Jaden said as Alexis drew her sixth card.

"I'll start by summoning Etoile Cyber," Alexis said and a ballerina in a red bodysuit with a white skirt, white ribbons coiling around both of her arms and long red hair spun into view (A: 1200/ D: 1600).

"Then I place one card facedown and end my turn," Alexis finished, slipping a card into a card slot.

Jaden drew his sixth card before looking at it. "Sweet. First, I'm playing Double Summon so that I can Normal Summon two monsters this turn. I summon Elemental Hero Knospe and Elemental Hero Lady Heat to my field in Attack Mode."

A cute rosebud with two leaves on her back like wings and rosebuds for her hands, as well as blue eyes and a permanent pink blush on her cheeks (A: 600/D: 1000) appeared on the field and a blonde warrior in a white bodysuit with a red and gold skirt and red handless gauntlets appeared next to her, her bright blue eyes fixed on Alexis (A: 1300/D: 1000).

"And, since Knospe is on the field with another Elemental Hero, she's allowed to attack you directly, plus she can't be targeted for an attack. Go, Knospe, attack Alexis directly," Jaden ordered and Knospe giggled before launching a few seeds at Alexis.

**Alexis: 3400**

**Jaden: 4000**

"And when she deals battle damage, she gains 100 Attack but loses 100 Defense," Jaden added (Knospe A: 600-700/D: 1000-900).

"Now, Lady Heat, attack her Etoile Cyber," Jaden ordered and Lady Heat nodded before conjuring up some fireballs in her hand—Kasumi shivered; she really didn't like fire—before tossing them at Alexis.

"I activate my trap, Doble Passe," Alexis said, revealing her Trap Card, which depicted a dancer in a red dress, dancing in a spot light. The fireballs bypassed Etoile Cyber and struck Alexis instead.

**Alexis: 2100**

**Jaden: 4000**

"Doble Posse turns your monster's attack on my monster into a direct attack on me," Alexis explained, probably noticing the surprised look on Jaden's face. "And now, my Etoile Cyber that you were just about to attack gets to attack you directly. Oh, and when she attacks someone directly, her Attack Points go up by 600.

"This is gonna hurt," Jaden said before wincing as Etoile Cyber landed a roundhouse kick in Jaden's ribs.

**Alexis: 2100**

**Jaden: 2200**

"Jaden," Syrus gasped.

"You okay?" Kasumi asked.

"That Alexis is something else. Sacrificing her own Life Points just so she can attack mine," Jaden murmured, straightening up.

"So, are you impressed?" Alexis asked.

"Impressed? I think I'm in love. I'll place one card face down and end my turn," Jaden said with a smirk.

"You're sweet. Too bad I have to crush you," Alexis said before she went to draw only to wince when she was hit with two fireballs. "What the…?"

**Alexis: 1700**

**Jaden: 2200**

"Sorry, forgot to mention Lady Heat's Special Ability," Jaden said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "You lose 200 Life Points for every Elemental Hero on my field."

"See? I told ya he was good," Kasumi said.

"Duel's still early," Mindy retorted.

Alexis shook off the attack as she drew her card. She smiled. "I'm summoning Blade Skater in Attack Mode," she said.

A female dancer in a purple and pale-purple jumpsuit with skates on her arms and her feet appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 1500).

"And then I'm playing the Spell, Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together to form Cyber Blader," Alexis said and her monsters leapt into the air before they fused together.

The new monster was in a purple and red body suit with long blue hair and a red visor over her face with a white skirt and skates on her feet (A: 2100-4200/D: 800).

"Wait, what just happened?" Jaden asked confused.

'_You should've studied more_,' Yubel said appearing floating to the side of the boat. '_When there are two monsters on the field, Cyber Blader's original Attack Points are doubled_.'

"Oh damn," Jaden groaned.

Alexis smirked. "Looks like you figured out what happened," she said while Kasumi was explaining what happened to Syrus. "Now, Cyber Blader's more powerful than either of your monsters."

"Good thing I had this then," Jaden said, seeing he'd lose if Cyber Blader attacked. "I activate my Trap, Elemental Recharge. Now, I gain 1000 Life Points for every Elemental Hero on my field and that's two." A card depicting a glass tube in which was Burstinatrix being recharged with electricity surrounding the tube appeared and Jaden was surrounded by a white aura.

**Alexis: 1700**

**Jaden: 4200**

"All right then. Looks like you saved yourself this turn," Alexis said before pointing and adding, "Cyber Blader, attack Lady Heat with Whirlwind Rage."

_'Argh, I hate the Graveyard,_' Lady Heat muttered as Cyber Blader began spinning across the field before a foot lashed out and destroyed her (Blader A: 4200-2100/D: 800).

**Alexis: 1700**

**Jaden: 1300**

"Way to go, Alexis," Mindy cheered.

"I knew this guy beating Dr. Crowler on his first turn was just luck," Jasmine added.

"I'll be happy to prove you wrong," Jaden said, drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He did so before adding, "And now I activate Polymerization to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." Avian and Burstinatrix appeared briefly before fusing together to create the green-and-red monster from Jaden's duel with Chazz (A: 2100/D: 1200) (Blader A: 2100-4200/D: 800).

_But I still have two monsters so Alexis's Cyber Blader is still too powerful_, Jaden thought, looking at his hand. _If I can get four monsters on the field, then I wouldn't have to worry about Cyber Blader's third ability. But I can't do that now. I can do one thing though. _"And yeah, I know your monster's too powerful but it won't be for long. For now, I'll just activate Knospe's Special Ability, since Flame Wingman's on the field, and attack you directly," he said.

Knospe shot a few seeds at Alexis, causing her Life Points to drop a little bit.

**Alexis: 1000**

**Jaden: 1300**

"And now Knospe gains another 100 Attack but loses another 100 Defense. I'll place one card face down and end my turn with that," Jaden said slipping a card into a card slot (Knospe A: 700-800/D: 900-800).

Alexis smiled as she drew a card. "I would use this, but that would be overkill, so I'll just settle for this. Cyber Blader, attack Flame Wingman with Whirlwind Rage," she ordered and Cyber Blader spun across the field toward Flame Wingman.

"I activate my Trap, Hero Barrier. Since I control an Elemental Hero, I can negate one attack from your monster," Jaden said and a swirling barrier appeared in front of Flame Wingman, catching the attack and stopping it.

"Looks like you saved yourself this time," Alexis said. "I place one card face down and end my turn."

"And it's my turn," Jaden said, drawing a card. "I activate Card of Sanctity so that we can each draw until we have six cards in our hands." He and Alexis drew before Jaden smiled when he saw what he got.

_'It's_ _about time you used one of my monsters,_' Haou muttered.

"Looks like this duel's over," Jaden said, not responding to Haou's words.

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "And why would you say that?" she asked.

"Just watch. First, I'm activating De-Fusion to defuse Flame Wingman back into Avian and Burstinatrix, both in Defense Mode," Jaden said and Flame Wingman defused; the green feathered and winged warrior (A: 1000/D: 1000) and the fiery heroine in the red bodysuit (A: 1200/D: 800) appeared on the field.

Alexis smiled. "When there are three monsters on the field, Cyber Blader negates the effects of your Spells, Traps and Effect Monsters," she said as Cyber Blader powered down (A: 4200-2100/D: 800).

"Jay, why did you get rid of a powerful monster?" Syrus asked, confused.

"You didn't know about Cyber Blader's third ability, did you?" Kasumi asked.

"Hey, I actually did remember it," Jaden said defensively.

"Then why…?"

"'Cause I know none of Cyber Blader's effects work when there are four monsters on the field and I'm about to bring out a fourth one," Jaden said.

"I think I know what's coming," Kasumi said.

"What?" Syrus asked.

"Just watch."

_A fourth monster? Well, it'll have to have more than 2100 and if it is then I'll just use my Trap. That'll get me to the next turn and we'll see from there,_ Alexis thought.

"All right, Alexis. It's time to end this duel," Jaden said. "I now summon Elemental Hero Sparkman to my field in Defense Mode, not that it matters really." He placed the card on his disk and a blue-and-gold armored warrior appeared kneeling on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400).

"And, because I have four monsters on the field, your Cyber Blader's third ability doesn't work, which means I can activate this, the Spell Dark Fusion!" Jaden added holding up a card depicting Avian and Burstinatrix holding hands as if they were about to fuse, surrounded by yellow light with a dark fiend-like monster in the background.

"Dark Fusion?" Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy and Syrus all asked at the same time.

Jaden nodded. "I fuse Elemental Hero Clayman in my hand and Elemental Hero Sparkman on my field in order to summon my Evil Hero Lightning Golem," he said, eyes flashing to golden though, thankfully, it could have been mistaken for a trick of the light as a strike of lightning shot downward, enveloping the clay giant who had appeared on the field next to Sparkman.

They fused together and a new monster took their place; a giant of green and purple armor with yellow lightning-bolt shaped shoulder plates and lightning-bolts on either side of his head. There was a blue helmet over his head, a large red orb in his chest and two smaller red orbs on the back of each of his gauntlet covered hands (A: 2400/D: 1500).

"Evil Hero? I've never heard of them before," Alexis mused.

_Is it just me, or did his eyes change color? _She thought with a frown.

"Yeah, they're rare," Jaden said with a shrug.

_'That's_ _an understatement. I'm the only one who has these cards,_' Haou said.

Alexis shook the question that had come to mind away before looking at the stats of the new monster. _At least I have my Trap or else I'd be done this turn, _she thought.

Jaden studied Alexis before his eyes flicked to the facedown, but he didn't seem concerned by it, and he was right not to be, all things considered. "I'm activating Lightning Golem's Special Ability. I can target one monster on the field and destroy it," he said. "I choose Cyber Blader."

Alexis covered her face with her Duel Disk as her Cyber Blader shattered.

"And, since Lightning Golem still has his attack, I'll have him attack you directly," Jaden said. "Go, Dark Lightning Strike."

Alexis lowered her duel disk. "I activate my Trap, Negate Attack," she began.

"Sorry, but you can't," Jaden said. "On the turn Dark Fusion is used, the effects of all Traps and Spells that target the monster summoned with Dark Fusion, in this case Lightning Golem, are negated."

Alexis gasped before she winced as her card was sent to the Graveyard and the burst of lightning struck her, sending her almost flying out of her boat.

**Alexis: 0**

**Jaden: 1300 WINNER**

"And that's game," Jaden said as his monsters vanished and his eyes returned to normal and he gave Alexis a two finger salute.

Jasmine and Mindy looked surprised, apparently trying to figure out what happened.

The two boats came together a little while later and Jaden and Alexis held the boats steady to allow Kasumi to climb into the Obelisks' boat. Jaden straightened once Kasumi was safely on the boat, though it did rock a little from the added weight, before he looked at Alexis.

"Well, a deal's a deal. I won, so we get off free," Jaden said.

"All right, we'll keep quiet about this," Alexis said.

"If you ask me, we should turn them in anyway," Jasmine said shortly.

"You said you wouldn't," Kasumi growled, glaring at Jasmine who, remembering Kasumi's outburst from earlier, wisely decided not to say anything else.

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "Temper, temper," he said with a smirk.

Kasumi flipped him off for that but Jaden just chuckled.

He looked at Alexis before smiling. "You know, you're a really strong player, Alexis," he said.

"You think so?' Alexis asked, surprised.

"Yup and if there's one thing I like more than anything else, it's dueling strong players. Well, we'll see you around. Kas, try and learn to control that temper of yours," Jaden said.

"Shut up. You're not Mom," Kasumi retorted. Jaden just laughed again before he and Syrus began rowing away.

_Even if I did win, there's no way I could turn them in, Alexis thought. This school's a lot more interesting and fun with them than without._ She looked at Kasumi who had taken to sitting across from Jasmine and Mindy to balance the boat.

_Not to mention Kasumi does have a point. Getting expelled over something as stupid as a fake love letter? That's wrong,_ she thought.

Jasmine examined Alexis curiously. _I've never seen Alexis act this way. I wonder, is she falling for that Slifer?_ She wondered.

Crowler, who was still in the lake, watched as Jaden and Syrus rowed away from him. "Lucky brat," he hissed. "But I'll find a way to expel him yet, just as soon as I find a way home..." He sank beneath the water without another word.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 3**

**Darth: are we really going to have to wait until the middle of July for another chapter?**

**Blaze: if I can get the next chapter done before June 24****th**** then possibly not, though I'm not sure if I will be able to but I will try my best to give you guys (my reviewers) two updates before my beta-reader goes overseas**

**Darth: well, considering you have to watch the episodes to get some quotes right and you have your other stories, plus the fact that you sleep a lot, I'm not surprised it takes you as long as it does to write another chapter**

**Blaze: that and Writer's Block, can't forget Writer's Block. Right now, it's Writer's Block for **_**Genesis**_** (and, to be honest, I'm really getting into **_**Shadow Rise**_** mostly because I'm SO looking forward to the Shadow Rider arc). Oh and as for sleeping a lot, it's summer, leave me alone, though I really hate the heat!**

**Darth: really?**

**Blaze: yeah. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed chapter 3. As I said at the beginning, I am looking for three (no more, no less) OCs, two of whom must be willing to be Shadow Riders, and the first three reviewers who ask to include their OCs will get a PM from me with the information I need as well as the conditions that I mentioned (there aren't many, though the fact that two have to be Shadow Riders is one of them) and this is on a first come, first served basis.**

**Darth: reviews are much appreciated and Blaze will post chapter 4 soon, hopefully before the 24****th**** but most likely after the 12****th**** of next month.**


	4. A Day of Tests

**Thank you to **_**SuperNeos2, decode9, bobmanv2.0, DarkZorua100, JxA fan 2000, **_**and **_**iloveyugiohgx93**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**Also, I would like to thank **_**EndlessNight025**_** for beta-reading this chapter and for the suggestions that I have decided to use in this chapter.**

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**Update (July 13, 2014): I made a mistake in terms of the amount of Life Points Chazz lost when Gaia attacked so I have fixed that now.**

**4**

**A Day of Tests**

A week went by and it was time for the first promotion exams of the year. As the name suggests, these exams helped to determine whether or not the student was ready to be promoted to the rank above the one they were in, with the exception of the Obelisks. The promotion exams for the Obelisks simply determined if they were still good enough to remain in the blue dorm.

On this day, a fleet of ships cruised across the surface of the ocean, sending waves into the air on either side of them. Seagulls and airplanes flew above the ships as the captain stood on the bridge, watching Academy Island grow larger. Turning around, he faced his crew. "Well, everyone," he said, "it's been a long journey. It seems like everyone's been after us, but it'll all pay off soon. We will arrive at our destination with our payload safe and intact."

He turned his gaze back to the ocean before adding, "Now, full speed ahead. This is the moment we've all been waiting for, the moment Duel Academy gets their new rare cards."

**. . .**

Yubel floated in the corner of the room, watching Syrus with some amusement. The little Slifer was currently seated at one of the desks in his dorm, wearing a white headband with three Monster Reborn cards on it. He was currently praying to a poster of the Egyptian God Card Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"Please, please, please let me pass this test," Syrus whispered. "I don't want to be stuck in this red jacket forever, not that anything's wrong with red. I mean, it looks great on you, Slifer. But I want Ra Yellow."

The alarm clock chose that moment to start ringing and Syrus jumped with a scream of "Slifer!"

Yubel snickered.

Syrus sighed with relief. "Just the alarm clock," he said before he walked over to the alarm clock, which was right by Judai's head. Just as Yubel had expected, Judai was not fazed by the alarm clock at all; she just had to remember that it took Kasumi pouring cold water on Judai to get him up for the entrance exams to know that would happen. He had a tendency to sleep in on the day of tests for some reason. She considered who she should call out to make sure Judai wasn't late for his tests today while Syrus looked over at Judai.

"And, of course, Jaden sleeps right through it," the spiky-haired little Slifer said before he nudged Judai. "Jaden, wake up! The tests are today and we don't wanna be…"

"Wrong!" Judai shouted, smacking Syrus and sending the little Slifer to the ground, which caused Yubel to snicker again. "Because I play a Trap." Then, the other Slifer turned over.

Syrus groaned. "Why can't he ever sleep in Defense Mode? It'd be a lot safer."

"Duh, Syrus," Chumley said, peering at the little Slifer from the top punk with his head propped on his arms. "You shouldn't be waking him up at all. Let him sleep in and make our day easier. Get what I'm saying?"

"Chumley, I don't get anything you're saying," Syrus protested.

"You see," Chumley said patiently, "we have two different tests today. A written test and then a field test. The written test should be pretty easy, but the field test has you paired up against other students, mostly from the same dorm, and I don't want to duel the same guy that beat Dr. Crowler on his first turn. Now do you get it?" Chumley then winked.

Syrus glared at the koala-like boy. "Yeah, I get what you're saying all right," he said. "It's a no wonder you were held back three years in a row." He looked back at Judai. "Jaden, wake up already I'll save you a seat!"

Without another word, Syrus dashed out of the room.

Chumley sighed. "Oh well, plan B it is."

**. . .**

After getting drenched by water from Elemental Hero Ocean—Jaden was convinced Yubel put Ocean up to it—the dark-haired Slifer was hurrying to get ready, grabbing a quick breakfast before heading toward the main building. Thankfully, since Ocean had woken Jaden up when he had, Jaden managed to make it to the main building and to the lecture hall where the written test was taking place with about fifty minutes left in the test.

Making his way into the lecture hall, he noticed Kasumi looking at him with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering why he was late. He simply shrugged back at his sister as he made his way over to where Syrus was fast asleep mumbling under his breath.

"A Field Spell…counters a Normal Spell…" Syrus was mumbling.

"I didn't know this was an oral exam," Jaden said with a smirk. "Or maybe you could've done without the all-night Slifer séance."

'_I've_ _seen a lot of weird things, but that definitely was one of the weirdest,_' Yubel mused.

'_I_ _agree_,' Haou said.

_Wait, you two are agreeing on something?_ Jaden thought, surprised.

'_We do agree on some things occasionally. It's not my fault Yubel refuses to let bygones be bygones,_' Haou said.

'_What_ _you did is not something that I can forgive that easily,_' Yubel growled.

'_How_ _many times must I tell you? It was not my fault!_'

"Hey, Slacker! Keep it down. Unlike you, some of us are trying to pass," Chazz yelled from his seat with the rest of the Obelisks at the top of the lecture hall.

Jaden shrugged. "Hey, I try to pass. It just doesn't end up that way," he said.

Banner called for him to go get his test and he made his way down the stairs and over to join the Headmaster of the Slifer Dorm to get his test. He returned to his seat before examining the test, surprised to see that he knew the majority of the answers; it was similar to the entrance exam that Kasumi had badgered him into studying for and he still remembered the answers.

_I guess some good came out of Kas forcing me to study for the entrance exam,_ Jaden mused as he began answering the questions.

He managed to finish the test with about twenty minutes left and had fallen asleep soon after he finished the test, much to Yubel's exasperation.

'_At_ _least he finished the test,_' Yubel murmured.

Banner cleared his throat. "All right, children. The written exam is now over. Now please, walk, don't run, to get in line for your new rare cards."

"They're here?!"

"Oh dear," Banner said worriedly just before there was a massive stampede toward the doors, leaving Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, Kasumi, and Arina behind.

Jaden yawned as he lifted his head before he looked around, confused. "Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Everyone's at the card shop," Bastion explained. "They're trying to improve their decks for the field test."

"Hey, Jay, why were you late?" Kasumi asked.

"Slept through my alarm," Jaden said with a shrug.

"You always sleep through your alarm," Syrus said as he woke up. "Wait a second, Bastion, why aren't you, Arina or Kasumi in a hurry?"

"Oh please. One errant card and the delicate balance of my deck would be thrown off," Bastion said.

Kasumi shrugged. "I decided to avoid getting run over by everyone else," she said.

"I'm confident in my deck as it is," Arina said.

"Well, mine wouldn't, there's no one here and I'm not," Syrus said, getting to his feet.

"So let's go!" Jaden said cheerfully. "There's nothing like the smell of new cards in the morning. Coming, Kas?"

"Sure," Kasumi said and the two Slifers and one Obelisk dashed out of the lecture hall.

**. . .**

By the time Kasumi, Jaden, and Syrus reached the card shop, it was deserted. The only person in sight was the counter girl and Kasumi had to wonder where everyone was.

"They can't be out of rare cards already, can they?" she wondered aloud.

"Excuse me, counter girl?" Syrus and Jaden said, walking forward. "Do you have some packs left?"

"Sure we do, but just the normal ones," the counter girl said, pushing a single pack across the table. "Here you go."

"We said some, not one," the two Slifers protested.

"I'm done for. I slept through the written part of the exam and no I'm going to fail the field part because I can't upgrade my deck," Syrus complained.

"Then you take the pack, Sy," Jaden said.

"You mean you would give me the last pack? But what if…What if you fail?"

"I doubt Jay'll fail," Kasumi said.

"Yeah, I may flunk from time to time, except when Kas here badgers me into studying for tests"—Kasumi kicked him for that—"but I never fail and ow!" Jaden rubbed his shin before glaring at Kasumi who simply smirked.

"Thank you," Syrus said, relieved.

**. . .**

Meanwhile, in another part of Duel Academy, Raizou and Taiyou were explaining to Chazz about what had happened at the card shack, where a stranger in a trench coat had appeared and taken all the rare cards before they could get to them. "We couldn't get you a single one, sorry, Chazz," Taiyou said.

"You know what's sorry?" Chazz said coolly. "You two, but it doesn't matter because there's not a single duelist at this school who can beat me, no matter what cards they carry."

"Unless that single duelist happens to be Jaden Yuki."

The three Obelisks turned to find a man in a black trench coat with a hat that covered his face standing behind them.

"Who are you?" Chazz asked.

"Somebody who thinks you despise Jaden Yuki as much as I do," the man said.

"That's him. That's the sticky fingers who took all of the rare cards," Raizou said.

"Rare cards? What rare cards? Oh, you mean these?" The man spread the trench coat open to reveal row after row of cards.

"Enough. Tell me who you really are," Chazz demanded.

"Don't recognize me, do you, Chazz? Well, how about now!" The man threw off his hat to reveal that it was Crowler.

"Crowler?" Taiyou and Raizou exclaimed.

"You looked better all covered up," Chazz said and Crowler face-faulted.

"Is that any way to talk to the one who's going to help you beat Jaden Yuki in the field test?" Crowler demanded, standing up.

"We're not in the same dorm. I can't be his opponent," Chazz said.

"Oh, you just leave that to me. You just be sure to use these rare cards in the field test against him. And once he loses miserably, he'll be kicked out of the school." Without another word, he handed Chazz a stack of rare cards.

**. . .**

Kasumi adjusted her duel disk as she entered the dueling arena where she was to face her opponent. As she was in Obelisk Blue, her opponent was going to be another Obelisk and Kasumi was curious to see who her opponent was going to be. When she spotted her opponent, she was surprised to see that it was Alexis.

"Well, this is a surprise," she commented.

Alexis smiled. "Yeah, it is. Well, Arina did say you were good, so let's see," she said, activating her duel disk.

Kasumi smiled and activated her own duel disk. "Let's do this," she said.

"Duel," the two of them declared as they drew their opening hands.

**Alexis: 4000**

**Kasumi: 4000**

"Mind if I start things off?" Kasumi asked.

"Go right ahead," Alexis said.

Kasumi drew her sixth card before examining her hand. "I'll start by summoning Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner to my field in Defense Mode," she said, placing the card on her duel disk. A female in a white dress with green along the hem and a white scarf around her neck and dangling behind her appeared on the field; she was dark-skinned with short blonde hair and golden bands around her upper arm (A: 1000/D: 1000).

"Next, I'll place one card face down and end my turn, which means I have to send the top three cards of my deck to my Graveyard because of Lumina's effect," Kasumi added as a card appeared facedown and vertical on her field and then she remove the top three cards of her deck and put them into her Graveyard slot.

"I draw," Alexis said, drawing her sixth card before examining her hand. "I will start by summoning Blade Skater to my field in Attack Mode." She placed the card on her disk and the purple and pale-purple warrior from Alexis's duel with Jaden appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 1500).

"Blade Skater, attack Lumina, Accel Slicer Attack," Alexis ordered and her Blade Skater immediately skated forward.

"I activate my trap, Lightsworn Barrier," Kasumi said, revealing her Trap, which depicted a Lightsworn monster surrounded by a sparkling pentagonal sphere. "If I control a Lightsworn monster, then I can negate one of your monster's attacks so long as I send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard." She did so and Lumina was surrounded by a pentagonal sphere and Blade Skater's attack bounced off before she was returned to Alexis's side of the field.

"A good counter, Kasumi. I'll place one card face down and end my turn," Alexis said, slipping a card into a card slot so that it appeared vertically and face down on the field.

"All right, my turn," Kasumi said, drawing a card before looking at it and then glancing at the cards she already had in her had. "I Set this monster in facedown Defense Mode and switch Lumina into Attack Mode. Then I equip Lumina with Lightsworn Sabre to increase her Attack by 700." A moment later, a silver hilt with a glowing blue blade jutting out of it appeared in Lumina's hand (A: 1000-1700/D: 1000).

"Now go, Lumina, attack her Blade Skater," Kasumi ordered and Lumina jumped forward.

"I activate my Trap," Alexis said. "I'm sure you remember this one from my duel with Jaden, Doble Passe." She revealed the Trap and Lumina bypassed Blade Skater before striking at Alexis, sending her skidding backwards.

**Alexis: 2300**

**Kasumi: 4000**

"Now, Blade Skater can attack you directly, go Accel Slicer Attack," Alexis ordered and Blade Skater shot forward, skating across the field before slicing into Kasumi's duel disk, that she used to shield herself, before skating back to Alexis's side of the field.

**Alexis: 2300**

**Kasumi: 2600**

Kasumi lowered her duel disk. _I should've seen that coming,_ she thought. "I end my turn with one facedown, which means I've gotta send three cards from my deck to my Graveyard," she said, doing just that before she smiled when she noticed one of the monsters she just sent.

"And one of those cards I sent was Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, which means I can Special Summon him to the field," she added and a large white beast in white and gold armor with long, curved ivory claws appeared on the field; it had a gold circlet around his head, a gold belt around its waist and a white ponytail jutting out of its head with a gold and black axe in one of its hands (A: 2100/D: 300).

Alexis eyed the monster as she drew a card before she looked at her card. "I sacrifice Blade Skater in order to summon Cyber Prima to my field in Attack Mode," she said and Blade Skater vanished. She was replaced by a tall, slender woman in a pale-blue and gray jumpsuit. She had long, curved white hair and a red mask over her face. There were dark blue boots on her feet, two yellow hoops crossing each other and a pale-blue skirt around her waist (A: 2300/D: 1600).

"When Cyber Prima is summoned to the field, every face-up Spell on the field is instantly destroyed, so say goodbye to that Lightsworn Sabre," Alexis said as her Prima suddenly gave off a dazzling light that caused Lumina's weapon to shatter in her hands, returning her Attack to 1000.

"Then I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Lightsworn Barrier," the Obelisk Queen added and a mini tornado appeared before crossing the field and destroying Kasumi's Trap.

"Now, Prima attack her Lumina," Alexis ordered and Prima started forward.

"I activate my facedown, Negate Attack," Kasumi said, quickly revealing the Trap. "This stops your attack and ends the Battle Phase."

"Then I place one card face down and end my turn," Alexis said and a vertical facedown appeared on her field.

Kasumi drew a card. "I'll start by Flip Summoning Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter in Attack Mode," she said and a white wolf with white and gold armor on his back and on his hind legs appeared on the field, growling as it fixed its golden eyes on Alexis (A: 200/D: 100).

"And when Ryko is successfully Flip-summoned, I can target one card on the field and destroy it. I choose your Cyber Prima," Kasumi added and Alexis shielded her face as her Prima shattered into pixels.

"Of course, because of this effect I've got to send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard," Kasumi said before doing that and, gesturing to Wulf, said, "Now, Wulf, attack Alexis directly."

Her beast growled before launching himself at Alexis.

"I activate my own Negate Attack to stop your attack," Alexis said, revealing the card.

Kasumi chuckled as Wulf returned to her side of the field; she was positive he looked disappointed. "Great minds think alike, I guess," she said.

Alexis smiled.

"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn, which means three more cards go to my Graveyard because of Lumina's effect," Kasumi added and a vertical face down card appeared on her field and she discarded three cards from her deck.

Alexis drew a card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards," she said, drawing two additional cards. "And then I summon Cyber Gymnast to my field in Defense Mode," she said, placing the card on her disk and a muscular dark-skinned woman in a blue and dark-blue bodysuit with long blonde hair in a ponytail and a white mask on her face appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 1800).

"And I activate her Special Ability," Alexis added. "By discarding one card, she can target a monster on your field that's in Attack Mode and destroy it. I choose Wulf." She discarded a card and Cyber Gymnast flipped forward before kicking Wulf, causing him to yowl and shatter into pixels.

"Then I place one card face down and end my turn," Alexis said, a reverse card appearing at her feet.

"My draw," Kasumi said, drawing a card. "First, I'll activate Lumina's Special Ability. By discarding one card in my hand, I can target a Level four or lower Lightsworn monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it, and I choose Wulf."

As soon as Kasumi slipped a card from her hand to the Grave, Lumina's hands began to glow a faint pink as she summoned forth a portal that soon returned the Lightsworn Beast to the field, once again in Attack Mode.

"And now, Wulf, attack her Cyber Gymnast."

The Beast-Warrior left forward and Alexis shielded her face as her gymnast shattered into pixels.

"Lumina, attack Alexis directly," Kasumi ordered.

As soon as her Spellcaster was about to attack, Alexis countered with, "I activate my facedown card, Call of the Haunted and use its effect to Special Summon Cyber Prima from my Graveyard."

"Sorry, but I activate my facedown, Vanquishing Light," Kasumi said, revealing a card depicting Celestia with her wings outstretched with her sun-topped staff floating in front of her. "So long as I tribute a Lightsworn monster, this card cancels your summoning and destroys the monster that was to be summoned. That means your Prima goes back to the Graveyard." She removed Ryko from her field and put him in her Graveyard slot and Alexis's Cyber Prima was returned to her Graveyard.

Lumina's attack continued as she unleashed a beam of light that blasted the blonde Obelisk.

**Alexis:****1300**

**Kasumi: 2600**

"I end my turn with that," Kasumi said, "and that means I have to send the top three cards of my deck to my Graveyard because of Lumina's effect." She did so, noticing she was starting to run low on cards.

_Okay, I'm still okay but I'll have to find a way to beat Alexis soon, _she thought.

"My draw," Alexis said, drawing a card. "First off, I summon my Etoile Cyber in Attack Mode.

The female dancer in the red bodysuit with the ribbons around her arms and the long, thick red hair from Alexis's duel with Jaden appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1600).

"Go, Etoile Cyber! Attack her Lumina," Alexis called out, pointing at the Lightsworn Summoner.

Etoile Cyber instantly sprang into action, delivering a roundhouse kick on Lumina, destroying her.

**Alexis: 1300**

**Kasumi: 2400**

"Next, I'll set one card then I end my turn." Another facedown card appeared as her turn ended.

Kasumi drew a card, wondering what Alexis was playing at. "I summon Ehren, Lightsworn Monk to my field in Attack Mode."

A moment after she placed the card on her duel disk, a dark-skinned woman with two ponytails, dressed in white and gold armor carrying a staff appeared on the field, holding an offensive position (A: 1600/D: 1000).

Though was still somewhat wary of that card Alexis had just placed down, she knew that she had this duel won if these next attacks connected.

"Now, Wulf, attack her Etoile Cyber," she ordered as Wulf lunged forward to attack the dancer.

"I activate my Trap, Mirror Force, which destroys all of your attacking monsters," Alexis said and Wulf's attack crashed into a shield before being redirected back at him, causing him to shatter into pixels, with Ehren soon following suit.

Kasumi ground her teeth together. "Fine, I'll end my turn by setting one card facedown," she said, placing the card on her disk as an image of a reverse card appeared.

Alexis drew a card. "I summon Cyber Tutu to the field in Attack Mode." She placed the card on her disk.

A ballerina with shoulder-length pink hair and a blue-tinted visor over her eyes appeared on the field; she was dressed in a red and pale-green bodysuit, a pale-blue ruffled skirt and pink flats (A: 1000/D: 800).

"Now I'll use Etoile Cyber to attack you directly," Alexis declared. "And remember, whenever she wages a direct attack, she gains 600 Attack Points!"

As her red-headed dancer sprang forward, her Attack rose to 1800 as she got ready to launch a kick at Kasumi. However, before she was able to get too close, Kasumi pressed a button on her duel disk, activating her set card.

"I activate my Trap Card, Glorious Illusion. With this, I can Special Summon one Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode, and I'm picking Wulf, Lightsworn Beast!"

For the third time, armored white warrior wolf appeared on the field, howling loudly (A: 2100/ D: 300).

"Nice save," Alexis complemented as she called off Etoile Cyber's attack, the red-headed warrior's Attack stats returning to normal. "But don't forget that my Cyber Tutu still has her attack, and thanks to her Special Ability, if all of your monsters have more Attack Points than Cyber Tutu, then she's allowed to attack you directly," she added and Kasumi braced herself as Tutu spun across the field and kicked Kasumi in the stomach.

**Alexis: 1300**

**Kasumi: 1400**

"Looks like we're almost even now," Kasumi said with a smile. _And I need to hurry and win or I'm screwed,_ she thought, glancing at her deck, which was down to almost her last few cards.

Alexis nodded in agreement. "You're looking a little low on cards though," she said with a teasing smile as she ended her turn.

"Don't remind me," Kasumi muttered, drawing a card. "First, I summon Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid in Attack Mode."

A white-haired man draped in white and red robes, carrying a stone tablet in his hands appeared next to Wulf (A: 1200/ D: 1800).

"Now, Wulf, attack Etoile Cyber," Kasumi ordered and Wulf swung his axe toward Etoile Cyber, slicing her in half before she shattered into pixels.

**Alexis: 400**

**Kasumi: 1400**

"It's your turn, Aurkus; destroy Cyber Tutu!"

Aurkus raised his hand and shot a beam of light across the field that slammed into the ballerina, destroying her.

**Alexis: 200**

**Kasumi: 1400**

"I end my turn, which means I have to send four cards to the Graveyard because of Aurkus and Glorious Illusion's effects," Kasumi said before milling four of her cards.

_You have to win on your next turn,_ she told herself.

Alexis drew a card. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Cyber Prima," she said, activating the card she had just picked up and the white-haired woman with the yellow hoops around her waist reappeared on the field (A: 2300/D: 1600).

"Now, Cyber Prima, attack her Aurkus," Alexis ordered and Prima shot forward before kicking Aurkus and he shattered into pixels.

**Alexis: ****200**

**Kasumi: ****300**

"Man, we just keep going back and forth," Kasumi commented. _And I'm almost out of cards,_ she fretted silently. _I don't even know if I'll be able to win. I should have kept my dragon in my deck for this test!_ She was understandably upset by that fact but she knew she couldn't do anything to change it and she just had to hope that she still had a chance.

"I'll end my turn with that," Alexis said.

_This is it,_ Kasumi thought, calming down and drawing a card before looking at it and then glancing at the rest of her hand before she nodded. _Okay, I think I've got this,_ she thought. "I sacrifice my Wulf in order to summon Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon in Attack Mode," she said as a circle of light appeared on the field around Wulf, causing him to vanish, leaving behind a large creature that looked more like a Pegasus than a dragon, with a long golden mane, golden tail and white wings with a dragon's head (A: 2000/ D: 1600).

"A nice monster, but it's too weak to take out my Prima," Alexis said.

"That is before his Special Ability comes into play," Kasumi corrected with a smile. "He gains 300 Attack and Defense Points for each Lightsworn monster with a different name that's in my Graveyard. Right now, I have five, so he gains 1500 Attack and Defense Points," Kasumi added while Alexis's eyes widened. A glow surrounded her Pegasus-like dragon, raising its strength (A: 2000-3500/D: 1600-3100).

"Now, Gragonith, attack Cyber Prima," Kasumi ordered and her dragon roared before unleashing a beam of bright energy from his jaws, causing her to shatter into pixels. The force of the attack sent Alexis skidding backwards.

**Alexis: 0**

**Kasumi: ****300 ****WINNER**

"Nice duel, Kasumi. Arina was right. You are good," Alexis said with a smile.

Kasumi sighed. "I've never gotten that low on cards before though," she admitted.

"You still won and that's all that matters. The fact that you were able to pull off a victory despite how low on cards you were shows that you're a good duelist," Alexis said, walking over to join Kasumi before holding out a hand. "You and your brother are both good."

"Thanks," Kasumi said, taking Alexis's hand.

"I have a question though."

"What?"

"Are you two related to Raiden?"

Kasumi blinked, surprised. "You know Raiden?" she asked.

Alexis smiled. "He was one of my brother's closest friends. So, are you?"

"He's our brother," Kasumi said.

"Wait, I'm dueling an Obelisk! And it's Chazz!" A shouted exclamation sounded from the dueling arena next to the one Kasumi and Alexis were in.

Kasumi glanced toward the shout before looking at Alexis. "Let's go grab some seats," she said and Alexis nodded before following Kasumi as she led the way out of the arena.

**. . .**

'_The_ _crossdresser is obviously hoping you'll fail to beat him,_' Yubel mused in response to Jaden's exclamation.

"That's right," Crowler said. "Since you always talk such big game, I decided to pull some strings for you so you get the challenge you deserve." He gestured to Chazz. "So congratulations, you'll be dueling one of the top ranked students at this school. What an honor! I sure hope you were able to snag a lot of today's rare cards so that your deck's up to snuff. What's the matter? Aren't you going to thank me?"

'_I'd_ _sooner jump off a cliff than thank you for anything, crossdresser_' Haou growled.

_I'll beat him, just like I would've if our duel hadn't been interrupted the first time, _Jaden thought.

**. . .**

_This is bad,_ Syrus thought from the stands.

"I can't believe Crowler did this," Kasumi exclaimed as she and Alexis sat down beside Bastion. "Oh hi, Bastion."

"Hello, Kasumi," Bastion greeted the blue-black haired Obelisk before looking at Alexis. "And I don't believe we've met."

"I'm Alexis," Alexis replied before looking at the dueling arena.

"Nice to meet you. As for this, this is clearly a trap," Bastion said. "Crowler hopes to expel Jaden by having him duel a powerful opponent with nothing stacked in his favor. Only a cavalier fool would agree to this."

"I'll do it," Jaden said.

"And apparently Jaden's a cavalier fool," Kasumi mused.

**. . .**

"All right, Chazz, get your game on," Jaden said. "Now we can finish what we started at the Obelisk arena."

"Indeed," Crowler said. "And in front of the whole school too so everyone can watch."

"Yeah, watch you get slammed by me," Chazz sneered as the two of them inserted their decks.

"Let's duel!"

Crowler dashed out of the way.

**Chazz: 4000**

**Jaden: 4000**

"No excuses this time, Chazz," Jaden said.

"Bring it, Slifer Slacker," Chazz snapped.

"Learn some new insults, idiot," Kasumi shouted into the arena, which caused Chazz to glare at her.

Jaden drew his sixth card before smiling when he spotted Winged Kuriboh. "Hello, my new furry little friend," he said as a coo sounded and Winged Kuriboh, in spirit form, appeared on Jaden's shoulder.

"Well, let's start off with someone from our last duel, shall we? I summon Elemental Hero Ice Edge to my field in Defense Mode," Jaden said, placing the card on his duel disk and the familiar child-hero with the spiky white headdress and green eyes appeared kneeling on the field (A: 800/D: 900).

'_Please_ _tell me I'm not going to get destroyed as soon as last time, Jay,_' Ice Edge said, glancing pleadingly at Jaden.

"I can make no promises," Jaden said before he looked at Chazz and added, "Then I'll throw down one facedown and end my turn." Two vertically placed cards appeared momentarily on his field.

"That little shrimp isn't gonna stand a chance against me or against this," Chazz said drawing his sixth card before smirking. _Appreciate the rare card, Crowler,_ he thought as he held out a card depicting a winged red and brown mallet surrounded by a burst of flames. "Fresh off the presses, Magical Mallet."

'_That's_ _not good,_' Yubel said. '_It_ _basically allows Chazz to redo his entire hand, which is a good strategy if he's looking for a specific card._'

"Now, I can return all the cards in my hand that I don't want back to my deck and then I can draw the same number of cards," Chazz said at the same time.

"A rare card on the first draw?" Syrus gasped.

"And a very dangerous card at that," Bastion said. "Now Chazz will be able to pick exactly what cards he wants and which cards he doesn't."

"I wonder how he managed to get to the card shack in time to actually get some rare cards," Kasumi said thoughtfully.

"I haven't gotten to the best part," Chazz said as he redrew from his deck and showed the Magical Mallet card to Jaden again. "You see, Jaden, I get to shuffle Magical Mallet too! So if I draw it again, which I just did, I can play it again and again. And that comes in handy, wanna know why?"

"You're going to tell us anyway so no point in answering," Kasumi said.

Jaden simply waited for Chazz to go on.

"It comes in handy when I'm looking for this. V-Tiger Jet, sharpen your claws for Attack Mode," Chazz declared, placing the card on his disk. A yellow fighter jet with a tiger's head and paws on its front green wings and a green body appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1800).

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kasumi murmured.

"And there's a lot more where that came from," Chazz went on. "Check out the magic of Frontline Base." He played the card before adding, "This lets me summon a level 4 or below monster this turn. And I have just the one, W-Wing Catapult." A blue jet platform with eight thrusters behind it appeared on the field next to the Tiger Jet (A: 1300/D: 1500).

"Gentlemen, start your engines," Chazz ordered as the Wing Catapult and the Tiger Jet flew into the air. "Now merge."

The two machines joined together with the tiger jet landing on top of the blue platform with thrusters on the back of both machines (A: 2000/D: 2100).

'_Union_ _monsters, technically speaking anyway_,' Yubel said.

Jaden grimaced.

"But wait, I'm not done yet because he still has his special ability," Chazz said to Jaden.

"Is this guy's turn gonna end sometime this century?" Syrus asked.

"By sending a card to the graveyard, I can force one of your monsters into Attack Mode." Chazz discarded a card and Ice Edge, eyeing the catapult warily, reluctantly stood up.

'_Ah_ _man. I hate getting destroyed,_' he complained.

"Don't worry about it," Jaden assured the child-hero.

"So after this, Heat-Seeker Blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your Life Points are toast," Chazz declared.

"Not really 'cause I activate my facedown, Negate Attack, which cancels your attack and ends your Battle Phase," Jaden said, revealing the first of the two facedowns he had placed on the field.

Chazz ground his teeth together and glared at Jaden. "Lucky move," he hissed, placing two cards facedown before signaling the end of his turn.

**. . .**

_Lucky move, _Crowler thought in the viewing box above the arena, wishing he could criticize that move, but he really couldn't.

Sheppard simply stared out the window, though there was a faint satisfied smile on his face. _Good job,_ he thought.

. . .

"It's my turn now," Jaden said, drawing a card. "And, after I switch Ice Edge back into Defense Mode, I summon Elemental Hero Heat to my field in Attack Mode." He placed the card down and a fiery hero in orange, red and silver armor appeared on the field looking over at Chazz (A: 1600-2000/D: 1200).

"And Heat gains 200 Attack for every Elemental Hero on my field," Jaden added. "Plus, I activate the spell, H-Heated Heart"—he showed a card depicting a burning blue H before inserting into a card slot—"which gives him an extra 500 Attack." Heat was surrounded by a white aura (A: 2000-2500).

"Now go, Heat, attack VW-Tiger Catapult," Jaden ordered.

'_You forgot about his facedowns_,' Yubel said with a sigh.

Chazz grinned. "And I activate my facedown, Waboku. Now, my monster isn't destroyed and I take no damage," he said and Heat returned to Jaden's side of the field.

"You really walked right into that one, Jay," Kasumi said with a sigh.

Jaden glowered at his sister. "I end my turn," he said (Heat 2500-2000).

Alexis frowned. _This is a complete mismatch. Jaden may be fighting back but how much longer can he keep this up when he doesn't know what he's fighting?_ She thought.

**. . .**

"Ha, he made such an amateurish mistake. Guess he can't play well with the big boys," Crowler said gleefully.

Banner glanced at Crowler with a raised eyebrow as he petted Pharaoh. _Why am I not surprised he's criticizing Jaden over one mistake?_ He thought.

Sheppard simply looked at Crowler but otherwise said nothing.

**. . .**

"Ready for round two, Slifer Slime?" Chazz asked as he drew another card before he summoned a blue-and-yellow machine with a spiked ball as its body and two cannon barrels on its shoulders (A: 1800/D: 1500). "Well, X-Head Cannon is and, thanks to Frontline Base, so is Z-Metal Tank." A yellow-and-green tank appeared on the field as well (A: 1500/D: 1300).

"Wait, if he has X and Z," Syrus said worriedly. "That can only mean one thing."

"Now I play my other facedown," Chazz said, revealing the second facedown he had placed during his first turn. "Call of the Haunted and, in case you slept through that class as well"—Jaden glared at that. He did try to stay awake during class. It just didn't always happen—"it lets me bring a monster back from the Graveyard. And I choose…" He trailed off as a red metallic dragon appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1600).

"He has it," Bastion said.

"It's him," Syrus gasped.

Kasumi said nothing, confident that Jaden could overcome this obstacle but also wondering just how Jaden would do it.

"That's right. It's Y-Dragon Head," Chazz said. "I discarded it with my Tiger Catapult's Special Ability. And next I'll combine them to create the XYZ-Dragon Cannon."

The three monsters flew into the air before locking onto each other with the head cannon on top and the metal tank on the bottom (A: 2800/D: 2600).

"Now Chazz has two monsters out with over 2000 Attack each," Bastion said.

"But wait, Jaden, there's more. Actually, less, you see, they say that two heads are better than one. But I would have to disagree, especially when the one in question is the ultimate V to Z Dragon Catapult Cannon!" The two machines on the field locked together and transformed to create a mechanical humanoid with large red wings (A: 3000/D: 2800).

'_If_ _anyone wants my opinion, he was better off with two monsters rather than one,_' Haou said.

Yubel, for once, did not question Haou's opinion, probably because, judging by the look in her eyes, she agreed.

"Makes your Ice Edge and Heat look like an ice cube and single flame, at least it did for Heat," Chazz said and Heat vanished.

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?" he asked.

"Oh I'm sorry. Didn't I mention V to Z's Special Ability? He allows me to remove one card on your side of the field once per turn." Chazz said before he chuckled and added, "And if you think that's impressive, wait until you see its attack. And, also, when Dragon Catapult Cannon attacks, I get to switch one of your monsters into Attack Mode." Ice Edge, groaning, stood.

"Once he's gone, your Life Points will be zapped too. Go, Dragon Catapult Cannon, attack his Ice Edge," Chazz ordered and a lightning bolt flew from the cannon to crash into Ice Edge, destroying him and taking out a large chunk of Jaden's Life Points.

**Chazz: 4000**

**Jaden: 1800**

"He lost more than half his Life Points in a single blast," Syrus exclaimed.

"He's still in this," Kasumi assured the spiky blue-haired Slifer.

"Aww, what's the matter, Jaden? Having some test anxiety?" Chazz taunted, placing a card facedown and ending his turn. "I knew scum like you didn't belong at this academy, but don't worry, because it will all be over soon."

Jaden simply smirked as he drew a card. "No way, Chazz, I'm still in this. This isn't over. It's only just barely started." He glanced at the card he just drew before looking at his hand, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

"I did say I'd use you eventually," Jaden said, glancing at the Winged Kuriboh card and heard him _coo_ in response.

"I summon Winged Kuriboh in Defense Mode," Jaden said and the small furball with white wings and large eyes appeared on the field (A: 300/D: 200).

Quite a few females in the audience went "aww!"

Kasumi rolled her eyes, though she had to admit Winged Kuriboh was cute.

Chazz rolled his eyes. "That furball isn't gonna protect you," he sneered.

Jaden simply shrugged. "I end my turn," he said.

Chazz drew a card. "I'm about to have a cooked furball on the field and I like mine well done," he said with a smirk.

Jaden simply raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

"Attack that furball now," Chazz ordered of his cannon.

'_You're kidding me!_' Haou exclaimed. '_This guy is such an idiot. He blew his chances of winning this duel._'

'_I think the idiot got too arrogant and believes that Judai can't win no matter what he does,_' Yubel said dryly.

Jaden agreed wholeheartedly with both his alter ego and his guardian. _At least my Life Points are safe,_ he thought as Winged Kuriboh was destroyed. He sent a mentally apology to the newest spirit to join his family and heard a faint understanding _coo_ in response.

"I end my turn," Chazz said.

"At least Jaden's Life Points are safe," Syrus said.

"But there isn't much he can do against a monster like that," Bastion said.

"My turn," Jaden said, drawing a card. "I play Card of Sanctity so that we draw until we each have six cards in our hands." He and Chazz drew, giving Jaden five new cards and he grinned when he saw he had drawn exactly the cards he needed.

"Now, I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Ice Edge in Attack Mode," Jaden said and his child-like hero with the white headdress reappeared on the field (A: 800/D: 900).

"Next, I play Polymerization in my hand to break out another one of my Fusion Monsters, one of my favorites, actually," he added. "I fuse Elemental Hero Ocean and Elemental Hero Woodsman in my hand in order to form Elemental Hero Gaia!" Woodsman—a brown-and-green monster with a tree branch for an arm—and Ocean—a blue water monster with a shark fin on his head, carrying a two-prong spear—appeared before fusing together. They vanished to be replaced by a giant warrior with dark-green and brown armor, an orange orb in its stomach and silver gauntlets with three blasters connected to it over his hands (A: 2200/D: 1600).

"Yes!" Kasumi said excitedly. "That's one of Jaden's most powerful Fusion monsters."

Chazz snorted. "Like that monster's gonna stop me. In case you hadn't noticed, Slacker, that monster's too weak to take out my Dragon Catapult Cannon," he said curling his lip.

"Now he is," Jaden said. "But, when I activate his Special Ability, he won't be. I can target one monster that you control, halve its Attack and give those points to Gaia."

"What?!"

**. . .**

"What?!" Crowler exclaimed.

Sheppard smiled.

Banner chuckled. "Looks like Jaden's turning this duel around," he said.

**. . .**

"You heard me," Jaden said as Dragon Catapult Cannon powered down (A: 3000-1500) and Gaia was surrounded by a silver glow as his strength increased (A: 2200-3700).

"Now, I activate Ice Edge's Special Ability. Now, by discarding one card, he can attack you directly," the Slifer added discarding a card.

'_This is for destroying me,_' Ice Edge shouted as he dashed forward and punched Chazz in the stomach.

**Chazz: 3200**

**Jaden: 1800**

"Now Gaia, it's your turn to attack."

Gaia nodded and pointed one hand at the Dragon Catapult Cannon, firing on and destroying it. The impact sent Chazz skidding several feet backwards as well as knocking out some of his Life Points.

**Chazz: 1000**

**Jaden: 1800**

"Finally, I activate the Spell De-Fusion to summon Elemental Hero Ocean and Elemental Hero Woodsman to my field, both in Attack Mode," Jaden added and Gaia vanished. He was replaced by the blue monster with the two-prong trident (A: 1500/D: 1200) and the green monster with the branch for an arm (A: 1000/D: 2000).

"Go, Woodsman, attack Chazz directly," Jaden ordered.

Woodsman nodded before he leapt forward and slammed a first into Chazz face and sending him to the ground.

**Chazz: 0**

**Jaden: 1800 WINNER**

"Way to go, Jaden," Kasumi called.

"He did it," Syrus cried.

_Congratulations,_ Alexis thought.

**. . .**

"Impossible!" Crowler cried, pressing his face up against the glass. "Not with all the rare cards I gave Chazz. This simply can't be!"

"Rare cards?" Sheppard echoed, reminding the Obelisk Headmaster that he was there. "What exactly are you talking about, Crowler?"

Crowler jumped. "Uh, nothing, I, uh, have to grade some tests," he said and quickly hurried out of the room, not noticing Sheppard as he laughed at Crowler's back.

**. . .**

"And that's game," Jaden said, giving Chazz his signature two-finger salute. "Unless you want to duel again."

"Oh, we will," Chazz hissed angrily.

"Jaden!"

Jaden turned to find Syrus, Kasumi and Bastion jogging over to join him.

"_That_ _was well done, Jaden,_" Chancellor Sheppard's voice sounded over the intercom. "_Never in the history of our revered academy has a Slifer ever dueled an Obelisk at these exams. Not only did you hold your own, but you won. Your courage against overwhelming odds is…inspiring. It is with great pride that I grant you the promotion to Ra Yellow. Good job._"

The crowd began cheering.

"You're the best, Jaden," Syrus exclaimed, hugging the brown-haired Slifer's waist.

Kasumi placed a hand on Jaden's shoulder. "Finally, you get into the rank you were supposed to be in to begin with. Congratulations," she said.

"Thanks, Kas," the Slifer said.

"Good show, Jaden. And allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Ra dorm," Bastion said, holding out a hand.

"Thanks," Jaden replied, taking Bastion's hand and shaking it, though he had already made his decision in terms of whether he would accept the promotion or not.

**. . .**

That night in the Slifer dorm, Syrus was what Chumley described as moping around after the E-Hero duelist had gotten promoted.

"Hey, Syrus, if you're gonna mope around, you might as well make me a grilled cheese," the boy said.

"I just thought Jaden would say goodbye to us at least," Syrus said.

"Hey, who's talking about goodbyes?"

Both Slifers turned to find Jaden leaning against the open doorway with a small smile on his face. Syrus jumped off his bed. "Jaden? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to say congrats on passing your field test. Also, in case you've forgotten"—He placed his hands on his hips, though there was still an amused smile on his face—"I _live_ here."

"What?"

Jaden shrugged. "Ra Yellow may have nice, clean sheets and a lack of cockroaches but, without you, it's not my home. Besides, I want to prove that you don't have to be of a higher rank to be a great duelist," he said.

Syrus started crying before he dove at the taller boy and hugged him with tears streaming down his face.

"Hey! Easy, Syrus," Jaden protested, struggling to get free and inwardly scowling at Yubel and Haou who were both snickering.

"I thought…I thought I had lost you forever! Now I'm never letting go."

Jaden sweat-dropped. "Come on, let go, Sy. I don't mind the hug, but I could do without the waterworks," he complained.

Chumley just laughed.

**. . .**

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked, surprised.

Kasumi leaned back in her chair in the Obelisk Girl's Dormitory common room. "Exactly as I said. Jaden refused the offer," she said.

"But why? You said he was supposed to be in the Ra Yellow dorm from the very beginning," Arina said, confused.

Kasumi shrugged. "I think he wants to prove that rank doesn't matter," she said. "That or he just didn't want to leave Syrus. Those two have become very close friends. Or it could be both. I don't know, really."

"Well, whatever the reason, I wish him the best," Alexis said.

**. . .**

In the Obelisk Boy's dormitory, one Obelisk was moping around and glaring at the wall as he thought about his duel with the slacker and how he had lost. "Stupid Slifer, you lucky punk," he seethed in anger. "I'll show you who's superior around here!"

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 4 and, again, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025 **_**for her help in beta-reading this chapter. So if there are any mistakes left then they are most definitely mine.**

**Darth: don't you have chapter 5 completed already?**

**Blaze: I just needed to get it beta-read but I'm gonna give my beta-reader some time before I send it to her. That'll give me some time to finish chapter 6 and start on chapter 7. I wanna try and stay ahead so that my readers won't have to wait forever for a new chapter**

**Darth: cool.**

**Blaze: yup so please review and I will post chapter 5 as soon as I can.**


	5. Enter the Shadows

**Thank you to _Vanishing Raptor, _**_**SuperNeos2, **__**DarkJumper, DarkZorua100, decode9, bobmanv2.0 **_**and**_** iloveyugiohGX93**_** for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Also, I want to give a HUGE thank you to **_**EndlessNight025 **_**for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**Note: I changed a simple thing in Chapter 1. I don't know if you'll notice it but the change is there, since it helps to fix a plot hole my beta-reader pointed out to me.**

**Here is chapter 5 and I hope that I did this duel justice all things considered. Chapter 6 shall come out Saturday maybe (yeah, if I actually get through and finish chapter 7, I will be ahead in Season 1 in this story than I am in **_**Genesis. **_**Ahem…anyway…). Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**5**

**Enter the Shadows**

The Abandoned Dorm was a place that everyone at the academy avoided, though whether it was because of the eerie appearance of the dorm or if it was because students were threatened with expulsion for going near it, no one knew. It was like the Obelisk dorm in it that it looked as if it could have had an aesthetic appearance before it was abandoned; it was large and the grounds around it were overgrown.

"This place is creepy," Kasumi said, looking at the Abandoned Dorm before shivering.

Alexis looked at her, holding a single rose in one hand. "You didn't have to come, Kasumi," she said.

"I'm just here to make sure you aren't caught," Kasumi said. She knew that if anyone was caught near the Abandoned Dorm then they would be in danger of getting expelled.

Alexis simply smiled at her friend before she walked over to the gates and gently placed the rose beside it. _Be at peace, brother, wherever you are,_ she thought before she and Kasumi left.

**. . .**

Meanwhile, while everyone was sleeping, a group of Slifers were sitting around in a table. Syrus, Chumley, and Jaden had decided to tell each other ghost stories based on the level on a card they drew; the higher the level on the card, the scarier your story had to be and it was currently Syrus's turn.

"I went out into the woods and, underneath the full moon, I saw a path leading to a cavern that seemed abandoned. Then, at the back of the cavern was a mysterious lake. So I go in to look at it and at the very bottom under just the right angle of light, I see a rare and powerful card beyond my reflection. Naturally, I go and get it but when I reach out for it, an arm shoots out of the water, grabs me and begins to pull me into the lake! Ahh! Help me! Not the water! Not the water!"

_'Hmpf, that's not scary whatsoever,_' Haou muttered.

"Water's not scary," Jaden said.

"Not even dirty swamp water?" Syrus asked, glancing at Jaden who simply shook his head and the little Slifer sighed before muttering, "You're right. Only a chump would be afraid of a story like that."

No one noticed that Chumley had taken up a fetal position in the far corner of the room.

"Still, a good story, mid-level scare for a mid-level card," Jaden said, handing Syrus the level four Earthbound Spirit.

"All right, let's see what I draw," the E-Hero duelist added before he reached over and drew a level six card before putting it down.

"Well, let's see," Jaden said thoughtfully. "This actually happened before Kas was adopted into my family. I was six at the time and my brother Raiden was seven. We had gone camping in a forest near the ocean with my parents. On the first night there, I ended up wandering away from the campsite for a reason I don't even know. It was as if someone or something was telling me to just walk and I couldn't stop myself from obeying. I wandered everywhere; it was dark and there was no way of knowing where I was going. I tried to stop myself from wandering, and listening to that strange…it was a voice but unlike any voice I have ever heard, but I couldn't.

"I ended up near the edge of the forest. We had camped about half a mile, or so, from a bluff that overlooked the ocean and that's where I ended up, right on the edge. The voice kept telling me to keep walking but even I knew that I would walk right off the edge if I kept going, so I refused. The voice didn't seem too happy with me for not listening but it left me alone and never spoke to me again. But then I felt someone push me. I don't remember much after that, I remember screaming and falling and then I remember someone catching me but after that, it's a blur. The next thing I remember was waking up in the campsite with Raiden and my parents hovering over me and asking me if I was all right."

"_You were shoved off a cliff?_" Syrus exclaimed.

Jaden shrugged. "I just thought it was a dream but the fact that my parents and Raiden were so worried makes me wonder if at least some part of it was real," he said.

He didn't notice Yubel who was gazing at him. _He remembers that?_ She thought, keeping her thought from echoing along the connection into Jaden's mind.

Syrus shivered. "If it was real, that must have been freaky. I mean, who could've caught you?"

Jaden shrugged. "No idea, but I do remember hearing a voice, much kinder than the other one, who was telling me that everything was all right, right before I fell unconscious."

"Hahahaha, I want to get in on the fright fest!" a laugh sounded behind Jaden.

"Gah!" Syrus shouted, jumping and falling off his seat while Jaden started before glancing over at the source of the laugh to find it was only Professor Banner.

"You just did," Chumley grumbled.

"Yeah, we're kinda on the edge of our seats here," Jaden said.

"Or we were," Syrus said, climbing back into his seat. "But since you're here, why don't you draw a card? The tougher it is, the scarier the story has to be."

"Well, that sounds easy enough," Banner said before he drew a card, revealing it to be the Level 12 Five-Headed Dragon.

"Level Twelve? I think I'm going to bed now," Syrus said.

_'Shut_ _up, Haou,_' Yubel said sternly.

_'But_ _I didn't say anything,_' Haou protested.

"But don't you want to hear about the Abandoned Dorm?" Banner asked.

Jaden glanced curiously at the Slifer Headmaster. "Abandoned Dorm?" he echoed.

Banner pulled up a chair and sat down beside Jaden. "Did you know that there are actually four dorms on the island?"

The boys shook their heads.

"You only know of the three named after the Egyptian God Monsters but, back when this school was first constructed, a special fourth dorm was created. This dorm was made for those who were as good as Obelisk Blue but acted better than most of the Obelisks, though there was another reason but few knew of what the real reason was. In fact, it was called the Millennium House."

"Millennium House?" Jaden murmured for that was a term he has heard before one year ago.

**Flashback**

_The phone rang,__breaking into the duel Jaden was having with his sister and he looked up. "I'll get it," he shouted to his parents before he got to his feet and made his way into the kitchen before picking up the receiver._

_"Hello?" he said._

_"_Hey, Judai!_" Raiden's familiar voice sounded._

_Jaden rolled his eyes at his brother's use of his first name but otherwise said nothing. He had given up on getting his brother to stop calling him by his first name years ago. "What's up, Rai?" he asked._

_"_Nothing much. I just wanted to call and check up on you guys,_" Raiden said._

_"We're fine. How's the academy? I hear you're on the verge of being promoted," Jaden said._

_"_I was but one of my professors suggested that I would be a good candidate for Millennium House rather than Obelisk Blue, which is another dorm that only houses certain people who are good enough to be in Obelisk. So that's where I am now but…_" Raiden trailed off._

_Jaden frowned,__worried. "Rai, what's the matter?"_

_"_It's just…this dorm isn't all it's cracked up to be, Judai. Weird things have happened. My two best friends disappeared without a trace just three days ago!_"_

_"Have you told anyone about it?" Jaden asked. "Like the other teachers?"_

_"_One of us did and the teachers started looking but they haven't found anything. Judai, I'm seriously considering just coming home for the holidays and staying home._"_

_That caused Jaden to start. Like himself, Raiden loved dueling with a passion and had always dreamed of attending Duel Academy. He was happy there, until now at least, and Jaden knew that whatever was happening in the Millennium Dorm, it was very serious. Raiden would never consider giving up his dream if it wasn't._

_"Rai, are you sure?"_

_"_I really don't want to leave but, Judai, I haven't been this scared since your powers were awakened when you were seven!_"_

_Jaden shivered at the memory of when his powers were awakened and pushed the memory away. And there was also the fact that Raiden was not one to actually admit that he was scared. He always acted like he was fearless, especially when he was around Jaden since he had always been protective of Jaden, ever since they were little and even more so after Jaden's powers awakened. For him to admit that he was scared…_

_"Do you want me to tell Mom and Dad that you're dropping out?" Jaden asked softly._

_There was a moment of silence. "_No. I don't know yet if I am going to drop out but if I do, I'll tell them myself during the holidays,_" Raiden said finally. "_Listen, Judai, I didn't mean to just dump all of this on you so suddenly…_"_

_"Don't worry about it, Rai. It's cool," Jaden said._

_Raiden remained silent for a moment. "_How's Kas?_" he asked,__changing the subject, though Jaden wasn't sure why or if it was just because he had nothing else to say on the previous matter._

_"Kas is as annoying as ever," Jaden said; he was only joking and the chuckle that sounded confirmed that his brother knew he was._

_"_I bet,_" Raiden said. "_All right, Judai. I have to go. I have another phone call to make and I still have a few homework assignments to finish. I'll see you during the holidays._"_

_"All right, Rai. See ya then." Jaden hung up before returning to his seat._

**End Flashback**

_And only four days later, Raiden disappeared too,_ Jaden thought. _This Abandoned Dorm looks like the best place to start looking for clues._

"Jay, are you all right?" Syrus asked and Jaden glanced toward the spiky blue-haired little Slifer.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess," Jaden said.

No one noticed the momentary flash of sadness that had crossed Banner's face. _I am sorry you have to suffer from this but you will understand in due time, _he thought or, rather, a part him _hoped_ Jaden would understand when it was all said and done.

Jaden glanced back at Banner. "You were saying?"

Banner nodded before going on with the story. "Nobody talks about Millennium House anymore because they shut it down when several students started to go missing," he said.

_Like my brother and his friends,_ Jaden thought.

"Where did they go?" Syrus asked.

"Well, that's the mystery of it," Banner said. "But rumor has it that it had something to do with Shadow Games."

_Shadow Games? That's not good, _Jaden thought. He could create his own Shadow Games, at least he was starting to learn how to do that, and Haou and Yubel had told him of just how bad Shadow Games can get; real pain from attacks, losers dying or losing their souls. It wasn't a pretty picture.

"Thanks, you can stop now," Chumley said pleadingly.

"You see, children, Shadow Games are duels that are played with mystical objects called Millennium Items," Banner said, ignoring Chumley's plea. "Remember? We discussed this in class today."

"Duel Monsters started in Ancient Egypt, right?" Syrus asked.

"Yes, that's correct. But the Egyptians, their form of dueling was in Shadow Games. And if you lost, you got sent to the Shadow Realm; a mystical place that feeds on the darkness and fear of those who enter it. According to legend, Shadow Duels were very lethal and some even led to deaths."

Syrus shivered.

_'Or_ _fates worse than death,_' Yubel said gravely.

Jaden knew what she was referring to and agreed completely. To push off suspicion though, and perhaps get some more information about Millennium House, the E-Hero duelist asked, "What does that have to do with the Abandoned Dorm? Does it have something to do with why it's called Millennium House?"

"Correct. It was originally built to study the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games. But then, a team of researchers also started disappearing so the rest were afraid that investigating it would lead to them being trapped forever in the Shadow Realm. When Kaiba Corporation first established this school, they made it into the dorm but then the students who roomed there disappeared as well so they shut it down."

"But is this all true?" Syrus asked curiously.

_'Yes_,' Haou said.

Jaden remained silent; the last thing he wanted was to try and explain how he knew everything Banner said about the Shadow Games was true. He wasn't quite ready to tell any of his friends about his alter ego, his guardian and the fact that he was the reincarnation of a powerful king, not yet. Raiden and Kasumi were the only ones who knew and Jaden was going to keep it that way until he knew for sure he could trust his friends with his biggest secret.

Banner adjusted his glasses before chuckling. "Well, that's what most people say but, as the saying goes, in every fable exists a grain of truth." Pharaoh yawned at that moment and Banner smiled before saying, "Well, I think that's my cue to get back to my room. Goodnight, children."

"Goodnight, professor," the boys called after him as he left.

Syrus pulled out his duel pilot before bringing up a map of Academy Island. "That must be that building that was X'd out of the map," he said.

"Sweet. Then you can lead the way for us tomorrow night," Jaden said.

"What do you mean tomorrow night?" Syrus protested.

"What do you mean 'us'?" Chumley echoed.

Jaden simply leaned over to look at the map. "It'll be fun," he said. _And it might be the only lead I'll ever find._

**. . .**

Meanwhile, eavesdropping from outside the door, Crowler chuckled, hearing the whole thing. "This is just the opportunity I've been waiting for," he said, excited. "I think it's time the Shadow Games made a comeback, Millennium Items and all."

He walked away from the Slifer Dorm, already going over who to contact.

**. . .**

A duel was wrapping up in an alleyway in Domino City. One of the participants was terrified and wanted to do anything to get out of the duel. "Okay, you win. Just take whatever you want and go," he said.

"What I want," a man with a metal mask over his face, dressed in a long trench coat with a duel disk similar to the one Crowler wore but with a tray on his sleeve, "is your soul." He held up a golden upside down pyramid with an eye in its center; the pyramid started to glow.

"Please, show some mercy! Let me go," the participant cried.

The man was emotionless as the pyramid began to spread around the man. "Show mercy? What is that?" he asked as the gold turned white as the opponent screamed, fell over and scattered the cards in his deck.

"Rest in peace, in the shadows," he said before he walked over to his opponent to make sure his opponent was down.

Then his cell phone rang. Opening it, he said, "speak" before listening to the person. "Duel Academy, tomorrow night, I'll be there." He hung up and smirked.

**. . .**

The following day, during class, Syrus was fast asleep in Banner's class while Jaden was resting his head on the palm of his hand, attempting to stay awake, even though his night after spending a few hours telling scary stories was restless and plagued with nightmares. Jaden wasn't too surprised by that as he did have constant nightmares about his past life, that day in the forest and about when his powers awoke.

He wasn't aware of the fact that Crowler was watching him.

_This is the last time you slack off in a class, Slifer Slacker,_ Crowler thought. _It's time I finally got you back for defeating me on your first turn. You'll have your real lesson on the Shadow Games._

**. . .**

Later that night, Crowler stood alone on the docks near the lighthouse, waiting for the arrival of the duelist he had contacted the day before. It seemed to be taking too long and Crowler was about ready to give up when he heard someone walking toward him. He turned to see a man in black standing a few feet from him; he was in a black trench coat with a wide-brimmed hat on his head and a mask on his face.

"So, you're the one they call the Shadow Duelist," Crowler said.

The man smirked. "My opponents' call me many things but most of them are hard to discern through their shrieks of horror. What's the job?" he asked.

Crowler smiled. "I want you to frighten one person so intensely, he'll leave this island and never come back. Are you up for the challenge?"

"I never back down from a challenge," the man said.

"Uh, yes, well who do I make the check out to?"

"Titan," the man said. "And I'll make this person face the terrors of the Shadow Realm." Without another word, the man vanished into the fog.

Crowler watched him go. "I better be getting my money's worth," he muttered before he walked away.

**. . .**

That night, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley made their way through the forest in search of the Abandoned Dorm but, after about half an hour of searching with their flashlights as their only source of light, they were lost.

"You know, you could think of it as being lost or you could think of it as us finding a few places where it's not," Jaden said.

"A few?" Syrus echoed.

"Well, it could be worse, y'know?" Chumley said. "Well, worse for Syrus, anyway."

"How so?"

"We could find a large puddle of dirty swamp water."

Syrus glared at him. "Shut up! Chumley, you're the one who refused to take a bath last night because you were scared of the bath water," he snapped.

Jaden, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped when he spotted something and he shined his flashlight on it, revealing that it was a single rose. "Hey, guys, check it out," he said.

Syrus tugged on the E-Hero duelist's sleeve before pointing. "Look what's behind it," he said.

Jaden looked up to see a decrepit building with boarded up windows. "The old dorm," he said.

"And it's probably got lots of ghosts in there too," Chumley said, moving to the rear of the group.

"Relax, Chumley, no one's here," Jaden said.

Two snaps sounded, causing Chumley and Syrus to start while Jaden simply looked in the direction of the noise to find Alexis and Kasumi walking over to join them.

"Kas, Alexis, what are you doing here?" Jaden asked.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "We were about to ask you guys the same thing," she said.

"Well, we heard about the dorm and wanted to check it out," Jaden said.

"You shouldn't have come here. Don't you know that kids have a way of disappearing around here?" Alexis said.

"I know," Jaden said. "My brother was one of those students who disappeared."

"Really? You think this is where he disappeared?" Kasumi asked, looking hopeful.

Jaden nodded. "At least, when I first learned about the dorm, I remembered when Raiden spoke to me about it and how he had been promoted to it and disappeared seven days after his two best friends disappeared. This place is the only lead I have on finding him."

"My brother disappeared too," Alexis said softly.

_That explains the rose,_ Jaden thought.

"You never told me your brother disappeared," Syrus said, looking at Jaden.

"You never asked. Either way, I say we go in," Jaden said, looking back at the dorm.

_'There's_ _something not right about this place. Be careful,_' Yubel said.

_I will,_ Jaden thought.

"Say what?!" Syrus exclaimed.

Jaden and Chumley began walking towards the dorm before Jaden stopped and glanced at Kasumi and Alexis. "Are you coming with?" he asked.

"No. Just be careful, Jay. I don't want you to be expelled," Kasumi said. "But if you do find any clues about what happened to Raiden, please tell me."

"Of course, Kas. See ya, Sy, don't disappear on us." His last words were directed at Syrus as he and Chumley headed toward the dorm.

"Oh, wait up!" Syrus shouted, running after them.

**. . .**

Alexis smiled a little as the two left before she looked at Kasumi. "He must really care about his brother if he's risking expulsion to find him," she said.

"He and Raiden have always been really close," Kasumi admitted. "Jaden was hurt when he found out Raiden had disappeared and it's also one reason, a huge reason, why he wanted to come to Duel Academy, the other being he simply loves dueling. I only came because I love dueling." _And to keep an eye on Jaden and make sure nothing happens to him and to get away from my past,_ she thought.

Alexis smiled. "That's why I came too," she said. "We should be getting back."

Kasumi opened her mouth to respond only to let out a cry of shock when someone grabbed her.

"Kasumi!" Alexis shouted until she felt someone grab her and she cried out but was rendered silent soon after she felt a tiny prick on her neck and she collapsed as darkness washed over her.

**. . .**

The inside of the Abandoned Dorm was just as rundown as the outside. It looked as if a storm had raged through it, destroying practically everything inside. It was also very dark and the flashlights did little to chase the shadows away.

Jaden decided to try and lighten the mood. "Sorry, but ya know this place is sweet. I mean, with some fresh paint, a couple of boxes and a throw rug, we could so totally move in here."

_'It's_ _better than the Slifer dorm,_' Haou said.

"You're kidding," Syrus asked. "This place is worse than the Slifer Dorm. I mean, look at this." The little Slifer pointed to a nearby wall; one covered with symbols and letters that were either etched into the wall or painted on. "What the heck is all this?"

"Do you think it has to do with the Shadow Games Banner was talking about?" Chumley wondered.

Jaden wandered over to the wall before examining the marks. "I think this wall shows the seven Millennium Items," he said. "Ring, Puzzle, Scale, Key, Rod, Eye and Necklace." He said nothing more as he shined his light everywhere only to stop when the light landed on a photograph hanging on the wall.

Walking forward, he gasped as he saw someone he never thought he'd see again. _Raiden_, he thought, gazing at the photograph.

"What is it, Jay?" Syrus asked.

Jaden pointed his flashlight at the photograph. "That kid next to the dark-haired kid, that's my brother," he said, feeling excited but also worried because if Shadow Duels really did take place in this dorm then Jaden feared his brother was already lost in the Shadow Realm.

_'We_ _don't know if that's true or not,_' Yubel said.

"I know," Jaden murmured.

**. . .**

Alexis woke up in a coffin with her wrists and her ankles tied together; turning her head, she spotted a still unconscious Kasumi lying in her own coffin nearby, her eyes were closed but she appeared to be breathing, which was a relief.

"Where am I?" Alexis murmured.

"Dangling on a hook, just waiting for your friends to fall into my trap," a sinister voice said.

"Jaden," Alexis gasped and then a golden eye flashed brightly in front of her.

**. . .**

Jaden was still studying the photograph when a scream pierced through the air.

"What was that?" Syrus cried fearfully.

"That sounded like Alexis," Jaden gasped before he put the photograph down—he'd come back for it later—and ran off in the direction of the scream with Syrus and Chumley behind him. The three of them ran down a flight of stairs before they came to a stop and Jaden spotted two cards on the ground. He bent down to pick them up, revealing them to be Etoile Cyber and Kasumi's favorite Lightsworn monster, Shire, Lightsworn Spirit.

"Whoever has Alexis has Kasumi too," Jaden said, gritting his teeth as a flash of anger went through him.

"Oh, this is bad. We don't even know where they could be," Syrus groaned, pulling at his hair.

Chumley pointed to the side where a dark hallway was leading downward. "Only one place they could be," he said.

The three of them moved down the hallway into a dark, round room where a tall figure in a black trench coat was standing in between two coffins; in each of them was a semi-conscious Alexis and an unconscious Kasumi.

"Alexis! Kas!" Jaden shouted before he glared at the man in black. "Let them go!"

"You wish to save them?" Titan asked as he stepped forward. "Then you'll have to beat me in a Shadow Game."

Jaden moved forward, gazing coolly at Titan. "I'm not afraid of dueling you," he snapped.

"You will be after I defeat you and send you screaming into the Shadow Realm," Titan said coolly.

Jaden's eyes flashed. "So you're the one behind the disappearances! Well, this time is different. You won't take Alexis or my sister." _You already took my brother,_ he thought.

_'Judai, I don't think this man is behind the disappearances,_' Yubel said.

_'It's_ _possible, though,_' Haou mused.

_Doesn't matter if he's the real deal or if he's faking. All that matters is getting Alexis and Kas outta here,_ Jaden thought.

"Jaden!"

Jaden turned to see Chumley holding out a duel disk he had taken out of his backpack before he handed it to the Slifer. Jaden put it on before activating it. "Get your game on," he said.

Titan smirked. "Shadow Game, that is, foolish boy," he said, activating his duel disk.

"Duel," they declared as they drew their opening hands.

**Titan: 4000**

**Jaden: 4000**

Titan started the duel by drawing his sixth card. "Prepare yourself, fool, to enter the Shadows. I summon forth Infernalqueen Archfiend in Attack Mode!" he said, placing a card on his disk.

A red-eyed skeletal figure in purplish-red and blue robes appeared on the field (A: 900/D: 1500).

"An Archfiend?"

"Yes, and because this monster is out, every monster with Archfiend in its name receives an extra 1000 Attack," Titan added (Infernalqueen A: 900-1900).

"I knew that," Jaden said with a shrug. "But I also know that you have to pay Life Points to keep your Archfiend on the field."

'_I_ _believe he has a way around that,_' Yubel said and she was proven right a moment later when Titan smirked and held out a card.

"No, I don't, not after I play the Field Spell, Pandemonium," he said before slipping it into the Field card slot on the end of his duel disk. The circular chamber changed until they were in an area with the skeletal remains of horrid monsters scattered round, bones laced into the walls and the floors with a lava pool at its center.

"Pretty cool," Jaden mused.

"And it doesn't just change the scenery, it also changes the rules of the game. Now I don't have to pay Life Points in order to keep my Archfiend on the field. Also, if they're destroyed outside of battle, I get to place another Archfiend of a lower level right into my hand."

_That Field Spell is going to make this harder, but I can still do this,_ Jaden thought while Chumley and Syrus were shivering.

"I know what you're thinking, foolish boy," Titan said, turning to the still only semi-conscious Alexis and the still unconscious Kasumi. "Your little friends' fates are sealed and you know what?" He paused but whatever he was expecting to happen, didn't and Jaden smirked before nodding a thanks to Yubel who had stopped whatever Titan had tried to do.

"What?" Jaden asked innocently.

Titan frowned. _What? They're supposed to disappear. What's going on here? _He thought.

"Is your turn over yet?" Jaden asked.

Titan glared at him. "I end my turn," he said.

"And it's my turn. I draw," Jaden said before he drew his sixth card and glanced at his hand, noticing he didn't have enough to take out Infernalqueen this turn. _Well, let's start with this,_ he thought.

"I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in Attack Mode," Jaden said, placing the card on his disk.

A white caped hero in blue armor, equipped with two canisters on his back and some kind of hose on his wrist, appeared on the field (A: 800/ D: 1200).

"And because I summoned him while I have no other cards on the field, I get to draw two more cards," Jaden explained as he did just that.

"Then, I place two cards face down and end my turn," he added.

"Too bad you won't have a chance to use your facedowns," Titan said, drawing a card before he put it on the disk as he said, "Terrorking Archfiend in Attack Mode."

Another archfiend appeared on the field next to the queen with a red crown on his head (A: 2000-3000/D: 1500).

"And since Infernalqueen is still on the field, Terrorking's Attack increase by 1000."

"3000? Wow," Jaden said.

"And it's about to get worse for you. Terrorking, attack his Bubbleman, Locus Storm Barrage," Titan ordered. Terrorking's chest opened up before a swarm of locusts appeared and flew toward Bubbleman.

_'Why_ _did you summon me first again?_' Bubbleman asked.

"I have a Trap, though, Mirror Gate," Jaden said, not answering his monster and revealing the Trap; a shimmering shield appeared around Bubbleman.

_'This_ _doesn't help,_' Bubbleman muttered.

Titan laughed. "Do you honestly think a Trap is going to stop me? Look around you and tell me who's trapped," he said.

"What?

"I mean your Trap won't work. It simply activates my Terrorking's Special Ability, one that determines our monsters' fate by chance," Titan said as six numbered balls appeared in mid-air. "When Terrorking is targeted by an effect, it gives my Terrorking a gambling chance. A number between one and six is chosen randomly. If it lands on a two or a five then your Trap Card is destroyed and my monster remains on the field. So let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens, shall we?"

A burst of fire surrounded the first ball before it began to circulate around the other balls rapidly.

"It's okay. The odds are way in Jaden's favor," Chumley said.

"You flunked math, Chumley," Syrus reminded him.

"Nuh uh I got a 54."

The flame slowed down until it came to a stop on the number two.

Titan grinned again. "It seems that chance has favored the Terrorking Archfiend. Mirror Gate is shattered," he said. The shield shattered. "Now, Locust Storm Barrage, finish him!"

_'Dang_ _it,_' Bubbleman muttered as the locusts covered his body and tore him apart.

**Titan: 4000**

**Jaden: 1800**

"That activates my other Trap, Hero Signal" Jaden said as his other Trap was revealed and a beam of green light shot from the trap to touch the wall revealing a large black H in the middle.

"When my monster is destroyed in battle, this Trap allows me to summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my deck or my hand, as long as it has Elemental Hero in its name. I choose Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode."

A giant made of dark gray clay with a small red head appeared, kneeling on the field (A: 800/D: 2000).

"Way to duel," Syrus said.

Chumley nodded. "That Clayman should keep his Life Points safe," he said.

"I don't think so," Titan said.

Jaden raised an eyebrow.

Titan held up the golden pyramid that hung around his neck. "At least, they won't be safe from this." A fierce golden light shone from the item.

"Now, the Shadow Games has truly begun," Titan said before laughing. "Don't your Life Points seem so utterly insignificant when it's your very life on the line?"

Jaden wasn't fazed at all, even as part of his arm and chest disappeared. He knew it wasn't real anyway so he simply gazed back at Titan, even as his friends panicked behind him.

"Jaden! Your arm!" Syrus cried.

Jaden glanced at his arm before looking back at Titan, pressing his lips together. "You gotta do better than that to scare me," he said.

Titan scowled. "This is the way of the Shadows," he said. "Transcending the game and attacking your body."

Jaden raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing while Haou was scowling in his soul room.

_'That_ _idiot is making a mockery of actual Shadow Games,_' Haou growled. _'Can_ _I…?_'

_'No_,' Yubel said sternly and Haou scowled at her.

Titan looked amused and serious at the same time, obviously not noticing that Jaden wasn't really affected by what he was doing. "As the Shadow Fog rolls past, it will ensnare you all into its grip, taking you completely," he said.

Chumley and Syrus suddenly began coughing as their hands went to their throats and the fog surrounded them.

"It's getting hard to breathe in here," Chumley gasped.

"You are all at the mercy of the night now. Treasure the numbness you feel inside now, for it will not last as you all make your way into the chasm and void where every waking moment is filled with misery and…"

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Give me a break," he said with a scoff. "Back at our dorm, we get blackout curtains, so I'm not afraid of the dark."

Titan held up the upside down pyramid. "But your blackout curtains don't wield the same kind of mystic power as my Millennium Item does," he said as the item began to glow again. "It's your move."

Jaden looked at his hand before pressing his lips together. _This is a sweet challenge, even if it is all fake_, he thought with a small smile.

Titan frowned at Jaden. _What's he smiling about? He should be begging for mercy right now,_ he thought.

"All right, my turn," Jaden said, drawing a card before looking at it. _Well, may as well get some more practice with these monsters,_ he thought. "And I play the Spell, Dark Fusion."

"He used that in his duel with Alexis too," Syrus said.

"I use this to fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand in order to summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing," Jaden said, slipping the card into a card slot as his eyes flashed to gold.

Avian and Burstinatrix—a gray skinned fiery heroine in a red bodysuit—appeared on the field before they fused together. The result was a tall feminine fiend in a red and pale blue bodysuit, spiky green hair and pale green claws on her hands. She also had a red cape that seemed to defy gravity, large dark blue wings and a V shaped blue visor over her eyes (A: 2100/D: 1200).

_Evil Heroes? I've never heard of those,_ Titan thought.

"Now, Inferno Wing, attack Infernalqueen Archfiend, Inferno Blast," Jaden ordered and Inferno Wing flew into the air before a blast of fire emerged from her hands to slam into Infernalqueen Archfiend, causing her to shatter into pixels (Terrorking A: 3000-2000).

**Titan: 3800**

**Jaden: 1800**

"He's disappearing too," Syrus said as a part of Titan's right leg faded away.

"Think that could work on my waistline?" Chumley wondered aloud.

"And now thanks to Inferno Wing's Special Power, you lose Life Points equal to the destroyed monster's Defense," Jaden said.

Inferno Wing flew up in front of Titan before unleashing a fireball right into Titan's chest, sending him skidding backwards and making more portions of his body disappear.

**Titan: 2300**

**Jaden: 1800**

"Then I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn," Jaden said.

Titan drew a card. "I play Monster Reborn to summon Infernalqueen Archfiend back to my field in Defense Mode," he said and Infernalqueen reappeared on the field (A: 900-1900/D: 1500) (Terrorking A: 2000-3000).

"Her again?"

"Now Terrorking, attack his Inferno Wing," Titan ordered, not responding to Jaden's words. "Locust Storm Barrage."

"And I activate my Trap, Mirror Force. Say goodbye to all of your monsters in Attack Mode," Jaden said with a smirk as a shield surrounded Inferno Wing, catching the attack and redirecting it back at Titan, destroying his Terrorking.

Titan scowled furiously. "How dare you?" he demanded.

Jaden smirked. "Because I'm daring," he said.

"Well, let's just see how daring you are after this," Titan said as he removed a card from his hand. "I'm activating the effect of Desrook Archfiend. By sending this card to the Graveyard, I can resurrect Terrorking Archfiend."

The fiend with the red crown on his head reappeared on the field (A: 2000-3000/D: 1500).

"Say hello to a not so old friend," Titan said. "So, since it's still the Battle Phase, let's try this again. Go, Locust Storm Barrage!"

Terrorking's chest opened up and a swarm of locusts flew out before attacking Inferno Wing, causing her to cry out in pain and frustration before she shattered into pixels.

**Titan: 2300**

**Jaden: 900**

"You will not be standing for long," Titan hissed.

Jaden simply shrugged as his eyes returned to normal. "As long as I got two good legs with me, I will," he said.

"Is that so?" Titan pulled out his Millennium Item and held it outward again. "Well, I hate to tell you, but your legs aren't good and now, with this latest strike, neither are your arms."

The upside down pyramid glowed, filling the room with golden light and Jaden watched as his right arm disappeared along with some other portions of his body.

"I shall end my turn now with a facedown," Titan said.

"My move," Jaden said, drawing a card. "I summon Elemental Hero Knospe to my field in Attack Mode."

The small plant monster with little green leaves for wings, a permanent blush on her cheeks and flower buds for hands appeared on the field (A: 600/D: 1000).

_'That_ _thing is scary,_' Knospe said, eyeing Terrorking warily.

"Since I control another Elemental Hero, Knospe is allowed to attack you directly," Jaden added and Knospe shot a few seeds at Titan, striking him in the head.

**Titan: 1700**

**Jaden: 900**

"And when she deals battle damage, she gains 100 Attack but loses 100 Defense," Jaden added (Knospe A: 600-700/D: 1000-900). "Also, Knospe can't be targeted for an attack while there's another Elemental Hero on the field. Next, I play the Spell, Card of Sanctity, so now we each draw until we're holding six cards."

Both players drew until their hand was full.

"Finally, I end my turn with two facedowns."

Titan drew a card. "It does not matter, once I take care of your Clayman, you'll lose," he said coolly. "First, I play Dian Keto the Cure Master to regain 1000 Life Points."

**Titan: 2700**

**Jaden: 900**

"Next, I switch Infernalqueen to Attack Mode. Then I play Stop Defense to switch your Clayman into Attack Mode." Clayman stood up.

"And I play my Trap, Elemental Recharge. This gives me 1000 Life Points for every Elemental Hero on my field," Jaden said, revealing the Trap and he was briefly surrounded by a white aura.

**Titan: 2700**

**Jaden: 2900**

"It matters not. Infernalqueen Archfiend, attack Clayman," Titan ordered and the swarm of locusts surged forward before slamming into Clayman and he shattered into pixels.

**Titan: 2700**

**Jaden: ****1800**

"And now, Terrorking Archfiend, attack his Knospe," Titan ordered.

"And I activate my other Trap, Soul Resurrection, to bring back Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode," Jaden said, revealing his second facedown and Clayman returned to the field (A: 800/D: 2000).

Titan scowled at the replay that Trap caused because, now that there was another E-Hero on the field, he couldn't attack Knospe. "Fine, Terrorking, attack Clayman," he ordered and Terrorking attacked Clayman, causing him and Soul Resurrection to shatter, leaving Jaden with only Knospe on the field, though he was still good on Life Points.

"What? Where the heck am I? What happened? Why am I all tied up?" Kasumi exclaimed.

Alexis, who had regained full consciousness at some point during the duel, glanced at her. "That jerk captured us to lure Jaden into a trap," she explained.

_Damn, I didn't think they'd wake up that quickly,_ Titan thought.

"Kas, Alexis, you two all right?" Jaden called.

"Yeah, we're fine," Alexis said while Kasumi was glaring at Titan and muttering something under her breath.

"Good," Jaden said.

"It won't matter. Once I beat you, they will join you in the Shadow Realm," Titan said.

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Are you done yet?" he asked, sounding bored. He was tired of playing this game. He could have ended it already but he was having a bit of fun making Titan look like a fool, until now at least.

'_I_ _got tired of playing this game a long time ago. It would be so much more fun if we could turn it into a real Shadow Game,_' Haou said thoughtfully.

_'No_,' Yubel said.

"I place three cards facedown and end my turn," Titan said.

"And it's my draw," Jaden said drawing a card.

"And I activate my Trap, Thunder of Ruler, so that there is no Battle Phase this turn," Titan said.

Jaden scowled. "Then I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman to my field in Defense Mode and switch Knospe to Defense before I place two cards facedown and end my turn," he said. His blue-and-gold armored warrior appeared, kneeling on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400).

Titan drew a card noticing it was another Desrook Archfiend. _Since both his monsters are in Defense, if I want to take out some of his Life Points this turn, I'll need another monster, since I have no cards to switch his monsters into Attack Mode, _he thought. "I summon Desrook Archfiend to my field in Attack Mode," he said and a fiend with blue spikes on his head and glowing red eyes appeared on the field (A: 1100-2100/D: 1800). "Now, Infernalqueen Archfiend, attack Sparkman."

Infernalqueen attacked and destroyed Sparkman.

"Desrook, destroy Knospe."

His second Archfiend unleashed its attack upon Knospe, causing the little plant monster to be destroyed.

"And now, Terrorking, attack Jaden directly and end this duel!" Titan ordered and his third monster attacked, though Jaden didn't so much as flinch.

"I activate my facedown, The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh," the Slifer declared, revealing the Quick-Play Spell. "Thanks to this card, I can Special Summon my buddy Winged Kuriboh from my deck."

The little winged furball soon appeared on the field in Defense Mode with a small '_coo_' sound (A: 300/ D: 200).

Not deterred by the brown ball of fuzz, Titian simply ordered his monster to attack it instead. Terrorking unleashed its Locust Storm Barrange upon the little Fairy, making quick work of it.

_Sorry, pal,_ Jaden mentally apologized as his newest partner was blasted off the field.

_Perfect, he is almost finished but he doesn't look scared. He's down to his last __1800 __Life Points. He should be terrified,_ Titan thought. "I end my turn," he said.

He then held up his Millennium Item in a last ditch effort to scare the boy. "Look into my Millennium Item and feel yourself drifting further into the Shadows," he said as the item glowed.

Jaden looked at the item before looking at Yubel who looked somewhat amused. Haou was muttering under his breath about how obviously fake all of this was and how much he wanted to take over and teach the idiot what a real Shadow Game was like. Yubel restrained him though, much to his chagrin.

Titan didn't seem to notice that what he was saying wasn't affecting Jaden at all. "That's it, boy. Your Life Points are all but gone and, soon, you will be nothing more than a soulless, hollow shell. Feel yourself drifting, boy, feel yourself drifting…" he was saying.

Jaden sighed. "Okay, I didn't mind it at first but now you're really starting to annoy me," he said.

Titan blinked. _Why isn't he unconscious?_ He thought.

"This is all a scam," Jaden said flatly. "My soul is not on the serving plate, it never was so quit with the tricks and let's finish this. I've got a friend and a sister to save."

He drew a card before smiling. "I'm starting off my turn by playing Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He drew before adding, "And then I activate my Trap, Call of the Haunted, to bring Knospe back to my field in Attack Mode."

His little plant monster with the permanent blush reappeared on the field (A: 600/D: 1000).

"And then I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Field Spell."

A small tornado spun across the field, destroying the field spell and returning them to the room they had been in before Pandemonium was played.

"Next, I'm playing the Spell Miracle Fusion to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix in my Graveyard to form Elemental Hero Flame Wingman," he said before removing the two aforementioned cards as Burstinatrix and Avian fused together to form the red-and-green hero whom Jaden had used against Chazz the first time; he had a dragon's head in place of his right arm and a white wing on the left side of his body (A: 2100/D: 1200).

"Now go, Flame Wingman, attack Infernalqueen Archfiend, Infernal Rage," Jaden ordered and Flame Wingman flew over to the Infernalqueen before blasting her with fire, causing her to shatter.

**Titan: 2500**

**Jaden: ****1800**

"And now you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's original Attack," Jaden added and Flame Wingman appeared in front of Titan before bathing him in flames.

**Titan: 1600**

**Jaden: ****1800**

"Plus, Knospe can attack you directly because Flame Wingman is on the field," Jaden added and Knospe tossed a few seeds at Titan who used his duel disk to shield himself.

**Titan: 1000**

**Jaden: ****1800**

"And that means, as you already know, she gains 100 Attack but loses 100 Defense," Jaden added (Knospe A: 600-700/D: 1000-900).

Titan lowered his duel disk. "So what? You still haven't destroyed this." He held up the Millennium Item.

Jaden's response; he tossed Avian, which was still in his hand, as hard as he could. It became stuck right in the eye of the Millennium Item.

"What…what did you do?" Titan cried as their bodies reverted back to normal.

"All right, Jaden got his body back," Syrus shouted happily.

"I never lost it, Sy," Jaden said, briefly glancing at Syrus. "This whole Shadow Game thing was just a big fake. Nothing but a bunch of smoke and mirrors used to make me _think_ I was losing my soul. I mean, this guy is a complete sham, he's probably nothing more than just an out of work carny."

"I'm not out of work!" Titan protested. "I can get my job back at the fair anytime I want."

"I'm sure you could," Jaden said with a smile. "And I'm sure that papier-mâché Millennium Items go over real well with the kiddies."

Titan started to sweat as he realized he was found out but he tried one last ditch effort. "No, shut up. It's real, I'm real," he said.

"You're nothing but a sideshow phony."

Titan scowled.

"Surrender now and give back all the others you took," Jaden said.

"I don't know what you're talking about and I refuse." He tossed a smoke bomb at their feet and a bright flash erupted throughout the room, filling it with smoke.

"You are not getting away that easy!" Jaden shouted, dashing into the smoke cloud to find Titan.

Unfortunately, things went wrong almost instantly. A dozen beams of light suddenly appeared from all directions, merging right between the two duelists; piercing through the smoke, it formed a glowing eye on the floor.

_'This_ _isn't good, Judai. Somehow, this is turning into a real Shadow Game,_' Yubel said warningly.

'_Yes! That idiot's going to see that he shouldn't have messed with the Shadows,_' Haou said gleefully. Jaden wasn't too surprised by that because it was Haou after all.

"I didn't do this. What is happening?" Titan exclaimed backing away.

The wind began to pick up and smoke swirled into a cyclone; Jaden was lucky he managed to stay on his feet despite the strong gusts of wind that beat him on all sides.

**. . .**

"Jaden!" Kasumi cried, struggling to get free from the rope around her arms and legs as a sphere of darkness and crackling energy appeared and both Jaden and Titan vanished.

"Ah man, Jaden's trapped inside. What do we do?" Syrus exclaimed.

"I don't think there's anything we can do," Alexis said softly.

"He'll get out of this," Kasumi said, hoping the worry couldn't be heard in her voice.

**. . .**

Titan was freaking out. "What is this place? Where am I?" he cried fearfully.

"You messed with forces that you can't even begin to understand and should never have messed with," Jaden said with a shrug.

A moment later, a shriek sounded and a large mass of black blobs were making their way toward the two duelists.

Titan was unfortunate. He soon got assaulted by the black blobs and they began covering his entire body. "Jaden, help me! Get these things off of m…" Titan's cry for help cut off as a blob launched itself into his mouth, muffling the scream.

Jaden started to step forward only to notice that the blobs were surrounding him and starting to move forward. A moment later, Yubel appeared in corporal form and used her wings to bat aside some of the blobs; even Winged Kuriboh appeared and began keeping the blobs Yubel missed away from Jaden.

"Thanks, Yubel, Winged Kuriboh," Jaden said with a smile.

Yubel inclined her head before she and Winged Kuriboh vanished.

"Jaden Yuki."

Jaden looked toward Titan. He was no longer covered by slimy blobs but his voice was more sinister and his eyes were a bright red behind his mask.

_Possessed by something in the Shadow Realm, looks like,_ he thought.

"The Shadows pang for a soul and only one will survive," Titan said coolly.

_'Can_ _I take over now?_' Haou asked.

_'No. Judai must learn to handle Shadow Games on his own,_' Yubel said firmly.

_'Fine_,' Haou muttered, glaring at Yubel.

_'Don't_ _pout, Haou._'

'_I_ _am not pouting!_'

Titan raised his duel disk and the blob army backed off to form a large circle around them. "This duel will continue here in the Shadow Realm, Jaden, and you will lose your soul," he rasped before his Terrorking Archfiend (A: 2000/D: 1500), his Desrook Archfiend (A: 1100/D: 1800) and his two facedowns appeared while Jaden's Flame Wingman, Knospe and Call of the Haunted also appeared on the field.

**Titan: 1000**

**Jaden: ****1800**

"Whatever. I end my turn." Jaden said.

"Very well, I draw," Titan said.

"Don't forget you have to pay Life Points to keep your Archfiends on the field," Jaden said. "And with you having only 1000 Life Points left, it looks like this duel's over."

"I beg to differ," Titan objected as he revealed one of his facedown cards. "I activate Emergency Provisions and, by getting rid of the other two useless facedowns on the field, I gain 2000 Life Points."

**Titian: 3000**

**Jaden: 1800**

However, at that moment, his Life Points decreased due to the effects of his Archfiends and smoke fell out of his mouth. "1300 Life Points lost is nothing compared to a soul," he said coolly.

**Titan: ****1700**

**Jaden: ****1800**

"And now, I sacrifice my Desrook Archfiend in order to summon my Skull Archfiend of Lightning in Attack Mode," Titan said and Desrook vanished to be replaced by a darker version of the Summoned Skull surrounded by crackling lightning (A: 2500/D: 1200).

"Now, Skull Archfiend, attack Flame Wingman," Titan ordered.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack," Jaden said.

"Then let's see if you are lucky for my Skull Archfiend of Lightning has a Special Ability like my Terrorking. Spin Roulette."

Six numbered balls appeared and the flame began circling them.

"If it lands on a one, three, or six, your card's effect is negated and your card is destroyed," Titan added and the flame suddenly came to a stop…on a three. "Looks like you were not lucky."

The Trap shattered and the strike of lightning that Skull Archfiend had launched at Flame Wingman connected, causing Wingman to shatter.

**Titan: 1****700**

**Jaden: ****1400**

Jaden winced as he felt the backlash from his monster's destruction._ This is something I'm really going to have to work on getting used to,_ he thought.

"Next, Terrorking Archfiend, attack Knospe," Titan ordered and his other Archfiend attacked, causing Knospe to be destroyed and Jaden to stagger back from the backlash.

**Titan:****1700**

**Jaden: 100**

"I end my turn," Titian finally finished.

Jaden drew a card. _Time to end this,_ he thought.

"I start by summoning Elemental Hero Ocean to my field in Attack Mode," he said and his blue water hero with a shark fin on his head and a two-prong spear in his hands appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1200).

"Next, I play Monster Reborn to bring back Elemental Hero Clayman."

The stone hero reappeared on the field (A: 800/D: 2000).

"And now I play Polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Ocean in order to summon Elemental Hero Gaia."

Clayman and Ocean jumped together before they fused. In their place was the large warrior with dark-green and brown armor, an orange orb in its stomach and silver gauntlets with three blasters connected to it over his hands that he had used against Chazz (A: 2200/D: 1600).

"That monster is too weak," Titan said with a cruel smirk.

"I'm not done yet. Next, I activate Gaia's Special Ability. I target your monster and its Attack is halved until the End Phase while Gaia gains those Attack Points," Jaden said.

"Then let's see if you are lucky this time," Titan said as the flame began to circle the numbered balls before it landed on a two, which caused Titan to scowl in disappointment. His Skull Archfiend was powered down (A: 2500-1250) while Gaia was surrounded by an aura as his Attack increased (A: 2200-3450).

"Now, Gaia, end this. Attack Skull Archfiend of Lightning," Jaden ordered and Gaia lifted his hand before firing the blasters that were on his gauntlets at Skull Archfiend, causing the twisted version of the Summoned Skull to shatter.

**Titan: 0**

**Jaden: 100 WINNER**

"Nooo!" Titan screamed as he was, once again, attacked by the horde of slime balls. He slowly began to sink into the floor but began fighting back. "Help me!" he pleaded to Jaden. "Get them off me! Tell my kids, I love them."

And then he was gone.

_'Serves_ _that con right,_' Haou declared.

Jaden sighed and ignored Haou's words before glancing at Yubel. "Any idea how to get outta here?" he asked.

Yubel pointed and Jaden turned to see Winged Kuriboh cutting a hole into the floor of the sphere. "Well, that works. Let's make tracks," Jaden said before he hurried over to the hole Winged Kuriboh had created before jumping through.

**. . .**

"Jaden!" Kasumi shouted in relief when Jaden dived out of the sphere and landed lightly on his feet. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Kas," Jaden said.

"What happened in there?" Chumley asked.

Before Jaden could reply, the sphere began to implode on itself. A huge wind kicked up nearly blowing the caskets Alexis and Kasumi—since they had been too close to the sphere for Syrus and Chumley to get to during the duel—away.

Jaden grabbed Alexis's casket while Yubel kept Kasumi's steady as the wind died down and the dark sphere shattered into a million particles.

Jaden breathed a sigh of relief before looking at Alexis. "You all right?" he asked.

Alexis smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

**. . .**

Jaden was the last one to leave the Abandoned Dorm. He paused in the first room they had entered before picking up the photograph, gazing at his brother before he smiled, tucked the photograph away and jogged out of the dorm. He didn't notice a certain blonde teacher making his way to the dorm and the teacher never spotted him.

Crowler entered the dorm, walked down the hallway and enter the round chamber. "Little Jaden must be paralyzed with fear by now. Oh, Titan, where are you, my friend? I'd like to hear every detail, every chat," he began before pausing when he noticed a card on the ground. He bent forward before picking it up.

It was Pandemonium.

"Titan would never leave this behind unless…he lost! Jaden Yuki has outwitted me again!" Crowler scowled. "But this isn't over yet, not by a long shot."

**. . .**

"Hey, where'd you go, Jay?" Kasumi asked as Jaden joined the group in a clearing a few yards away from the dorm.

"I just went to grab something," Jaden said before he held out the photograph to Alexis.

Alexis gasped, tears appearing in her eyes. "It's…my brother," she said. "This is the first trace of him I've seen in a long time and the kid by him must be Raiden."

"It is," Jaden said with a smile.

Kasumi looked over at the photograph before looking at Jaden. "Doesn't this prove that Raiden got caught up in the Shadow Game mess?"

"I certainly hope not, but it's possible, considering the rumors about this place. Either way, I will help you find your brother, Alexis. Who knows, maybe your brother and my brother are in the same place." Jaden smiled before adding, "Besides, we can't have you locked in any more tombs."

"You were really worried about me, weren't you?" Alexis asked.

Before Jaden could answer, rays of light from the rising sun washed over them and Jaden looked up. "We'd better get going before someone spots us," he said.

"Let's get back to our dorms," Kasumi said.

"Alexis, Kas, we were never here," Jaden said before he, Syrus and Chumley quickly hurried away toward the Slifer Dorm.

_But you were here and you saved me,_ Alexis thought as she looked back at the picture. _And now there's a chance I could find my brother._

_At the very least, we have a clue about what happened to Raiden. I just hope he's all right,_ Kasumi thought.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: once again, huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_

**Darth: this was a good chapter**

**Blaze: yup. Now, on to writing chapter 7 and getting chapter 6 beta-read (second time doing a tag-duel, let's see how it goes)**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: yup. Please review and I will post the next chapter as soon as I possibly can**


	6. Tag-Team Practice

**Thank you to **_**SuperNeos2, Vanishing Raptor, JxA fan 2000, iloveyugiohGX93, DarkZorua100 **_**and**_** bobmanv2.0 **_**for reviewing the last chapter. I am glad that you liked it and here is a short chapter for all of you. Two more chapters until the expulsion duel, which may or may not be different from the actual episode (I'm hoping may but I'm still working on it).**

**Also, there is some character development for Kasumi in this chapter that's small, you may not catch it, but it's going to be important for when we get to the Shadow Rider arc.**

**Also, question: what does everyone think of Kasumi? She is still being developed but I'm just curious to know what people think about her right now.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**6**

**Tag-Team Practice**

It was early in the morning, so early that only a few people were up and awake. Zane Truesdale—the Kaiser of Duel Academy—was one of those few people who was awake. He stood beside the lighthouse, gazing at the undulating waves of the sea.

"Zane?"

Zane didn't bother on turning around as he already knew who had joined him.

"What are you doing here?" Alexis asked.

"Nothing. Just felt like being alone," Zane replied neutrally as Alexis moved to stand next to him while Kasumi, the blue-black haired sister of Jaden, moved to stand on Alexis's other side.

"Who's this?" Kasumi asked.

Zane didn't bother on looking at the other first-year but he did wonder how she didn't know about him, even though they were of the same rank. He said nothing though, knowing Alexis would tell Kasumi.

"This is Zane, Kasumi, the current top student," Alexis explained, briefly looking at Kasumi before glancing at Zane. "And you know, Zane, with your little brother enrolled here, I would've thought you'd be less alone, not more."

"That's because he doesn't belong here," Zane stated bluntly, not once moving from where he stood.

**. . .**

Around this same time, a truck filled with soldiers pulled up to the Slifer Dorm. Professor Banner, having heard the noise, left his room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Who's playing war at this time of day?" he wondered aloud.

He looked up to see the soldiers running up the steps. "Oh no, it's the Disciplinary Action Squad. They only show up when a student is in serious trouble, and they're heading right for Jaden's room."

**. . .**

Meanwhile, in the room the D.A.S. was heading towards, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were sleeping the day away; thankfully, it was a free day. Unfortunately, a forceful knock on the door succeeded in waking Jaden up.

"Open this door right now or we will break it open!"

Jaden yawned as he sat up before making his way toward the door. "You and what army?" he asked.

"The Disciplinary Action Squad Army!"

_Well, that's not good,_ Jaden thought as he opened the door. There was a large group of people in dark uniforms standing outside his dorm room; the woman in the lead looked him over.

"You must be Jaden Yuki," she said.

"Uh, yeah, so what's going on?" Jaden asked.

Ignoring the question, the woman looked over his shoulder at the spiky-blue haired little Slifer who was still fast asleep. "And I take it that's Syrus Truesdale," she said as Syrus stirred.

"Yeah, so who are you guys and why are you here?" Jaden asked.

"As I said, we are the Disciplinary Action Squad and you two are under campus arrest," the woman said.

"Arrest?" _Someone must have spotted us leaving the Abandoned Dorm,_ he thought.

"What did we do?" Syrus asked, moving to Jaden's side.

"That will be made clear at your interrogation," the woman said. "Now get dressed."

**. . .**

"Suspension?!" The two Slifers exclaimed at the same time.

After the D.A.S. showed up at the Slifer Dorm, Jaden and Syrus were escorted to a large circular room and were currently looking at a group of giant TV screens, though they only recognized three of the people on the screens; Crowler, Sheppard and the woman who was in charge of the D.A.S..

"_That's what I suggested,_" the D.A.S. woman replied. "_You two have trespassed into the Abandoned Dorm in the woods, which is strictly forbidden, and we have received an anonymous letter from a faculty member who backs it up. You two must be punished to make an example for all the students._"

"_But_ _what kind of an example are we setting? That we are a bunch of hard-hearted tyrants?_" Crowler said suddenly. "_I say that we arrange something more sporting._"

"Sporting?" Jaden echoed. "What do ya mean?"

"_Well, Jaden, how about you and Syrus team up in a tag-duel?_" Crowler suggested. "_Win and you go free, lose and you both are expelled._"

"A tag-duel? Sweet."

Syrus obviously didn't agree. "B…But Jaden, he said we'll get expelled if we lose," he whispered as he turned to look at him.

"_Chancellor, what do you say? I believe they have accepted the conditions,_" Crowler said.

Sheppard nodded. "_Very well, I'll arrange some opponents immediately,_" he said.

"_Oh now, Chancellor,_" Crowler interrupted him as he looked back at Jaden and Syrus. "_Don't worry yourself about this. Allow me to find some opponents for them._"

"_Very well. You'll have three days to prepare,_" Chancellor Sheppard said.

**. . .**

Chumley hesitated as he walked into Chancellor Sheppard's office after hearing what was about to happen to Jaden and Syrus.

"You wanted to see me, Chumley?" Sheppard asked.

The older Slifer boy nodded. "Yeah, look, I…I was at the Abandoned Dorm too. I should be the one to duel with Jaden," he said.

"No, it should be me."

"No, I should help Jaden."

Chumley turned to see Alexis and Kasumi walking into the office. Sheppard also looked surprised, as if he wasn't expecting the girls, either.

"They were helping Kasumi and me, sir, it's mostly my fault they were there," Alexis said, stepping to Chumley's side.

"It's not just your fault, Alexis. It was mine too. They were only at the dorm…" Kasumi began.

"That's so bogus," Chumley protested. "It's totally my fault. I was the one that lead them to the Abandoned Dorm, because I wanted to check out the…Abandoned Cafeteria."

"Fat chance, Chumley," Alexis said before bowing slightly to the Chancellor. "Please, Chancellor, let me be Jaden's partner."

"Or me," Kasumi said.

Sheppard let a small smile cross his face. Jaden and Syrus had real good friends but he knew he had to adhere to the school rules and not play any favorites. "I'm sorry but the decision is final. Syrus will be Jaden's partner and I'm sure that they'll do just fine."

Chumley, Alexis and Kasumi exchanged glances.

_This isn't going to be easy for Syrus, _Kasumi thought.

**. . .**

"So what did he say?" Syrus asked, latching onto him almost as soon as Chumley entered the room. He looked miserable.

"Did he say yes?" he cried. "Please say he said yes. If I'm Jaden's partner, I'll get us both expelled."

"I tried, Syrus," Chumley said, pushing Syrus away. "I even lied and said that I was the one that led you guys to the dorm."

"Well, you did lead us to its cafeteria," Jaden said with a shrug; he sat at his desk and was going through his deck, examining one of the newest monsters that Yubel said he was ready to use.

Syrus turned to his friend in surprise. "How can you be so calm about this, Jaden? Aren't you scared that I'm gonna get us both kicked out?"

Jaden shook his head. "Nah, I wouldn't have any other partner, well, except Kas," he said.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Look, Syrus, we're gonna go in there, duel our best and win the match. Know why?"

"No, not really."

"'Cause you and I are gonna work out our skills right now," Jaden said, getting to his feet. "Now, grab your deck 'cause we're gonna duel."

**. . .**

Before long, the two of them were in a cove, with Chumley sitting on the cliff, looking down at them.

"Hey, Chumley, what's going off?"

Chumley looked over his shoulder as Alexis, Kasumi and Arina walked behind them; the Russian student was the one that spoke as Chumley had heard the accent. "Jaden and Syrus are gonna duel to prepare for the tag-team," he said.

Alexis frowned. "They'll get more practice if they actually do a tag-duel," she said before she looked over into the cove.

"I like that idea, actually. Jaden, Syrus, why don't we have a tag-duel?" Kasumi suggested, looking into the cove. "Me and Alexis versus you and Syrus, if you want."

"That'd be sweet. What do ya say, Syrus?" Jaden said.

"Okay, I guess," Syrus murmured.

**. . .**

Before long, Syrus and Jaden were standing on one side of the cove across from Alexis and Kasumi; Chumley and Arina were seated on the edge of the cliff, watching the group. "Okay, remember, guys, this is just a practice duel. Try an' go easy on each other," Chumley called down.

"I doubt Jaden can go easy," Kasumi said as she placed her deck in its slot and activated her duel disk.

"And that might be best," Alexis said, also activating her duel disk. "Believe me, I know Dr. Crowler and the people he can get, they will not be pushovers. Both Jaden and Syrus need to be at their best because if they're not then they'll be expelled. Okay, for the rules, none of us can attack on the first turn, you can use monsters on your partner's field and Graveyard, but you can't use the cards in your partner's deck or hand. I'll start, then Jaden, then Kasumi, then Syrus. Okay?"

The two Slifer boys and Kasumi nodded.

"So, are you ready?"

"Ready, Alexis," Jaden said, activating his duel disk.

"I guess," Syrus murmured.

"Duel," they declared as they drew their starting hands.

**Jaden/Syrus: 8000**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 8000**

Alexis drew her sixth card. "I summon Cyber Gymnast to my field in Defense Mode and then place one card face down and end my turn," she said.

First, a muscular dark-skinned woman in a dark-blue body suit with long blonde hair in a ponytail and a white mask over her face appeared before kneeling down (A: 800/D: 1800) and then the vertical facedown card appeared.

"And my turn," Jaden said, drawing his sixth card. "And I start by summoning Elemental Hero Lady Heat to my field in Attack Mode."

He placed the card on his duel disk and a blonde warrior in white and red armor with a red and orange skirt and red-orange handless gauntlets on her wrists appeared (A: 1300/D: 1000).

"And I end my turn with one facedown, which means you take 200 points of damage for every Elemental Hero on my field," Jaden added as Lady Heat conjured up a fireball and tossed it at Alexis.

**Jaden/Syrus: 8000**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 7800**

"My turn then," Kasumi said, drawing a card. "And I'll start with a Set monster and two facedowns and then end my turn."

A horizontally placed facedown card and two vertically placed facedowns appeared.

"Okay, my turn," Syrus said, drawing a card before glancing at his hand_. I don't have any monsters to take out Gymnast but, hey Patroid should be enough to take out Kasumi's facedown, unless she flip summons it before my next turn and it's more powerful than I think it is._ "I summon Patroid in Attack Mode."

He placed the card on his disk and a police car with a face and a policeman's hat on its roof appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1200).

"And I end my turn with that," Syrus said.

Alexis drew a card as her turn began, giving her five. "And now, after switching her to Attack Mode, I activate Cyber Gymnast's Special Ability. By discarding one card, I can destroy one of your monsters in Attack Mode and I choose Lady Heat," Alexis said, discarding a card and Cyber Gymnast leapt forward before kicking Lady Heat, causing her to shatter.

"Cyber Gymnast, attack Jaden directly," Alexis ordered and Jaden winced as the gymnast landed a kick in his stomach before retreating back to Alexis's side of the field.

**Jaden/Syrus: 7200**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 7800**

"You okay?" Syrus asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jaden said.

"I end my turn with one facedown," Alexis said.

Jaden drew a card, giving him five, as his turn began. "I think you remember this Spell from our last duel, Alexis," he said with a smile. "I activate the Spell Dark Fusion and fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand in order to summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing to my field in Attack Mode."

Avian and Burstinatrix appeared before fusing together and the tall, slender fiend with the large dark blue wings, the blue V shaped visor over her eyes and the large green claws on her fingers appeared on the field with a cruel smirk on her face (A: 2100/D: 1200).

"I also activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of your facedowns, Alexis."

A mini-tornado appeared and spun across the field, destroying one of Alexis's facedowns.

"Now, Inferno Wing, attack Cyber Gymnast, Inferno Blast," Jaden ordered and Inferno Wing flew into the air before sending a blast of fire toward Gymnast. It struck her and she shattered.

**Jaden/Syrus: 7200**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 6500**

"And now you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's Defense," Jaden added and Inferno Wing hit Alexis again with another fire blast.

**Jaden/Syrus: 7200**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****4700**

"Nice move, Jay," Syrus said.

Jaden nodded. "I end my turn," he said.

"And it's my turn, I draw," Kasumi said, drawing a card, giving her four. "And I Flip-summon Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter in Attack Mode."

Her Set card flipped up and the white furred beast with white and gold armor on his back and his hindlegs appeared on the field (A: 200/D: 100).

"When Ryko's Flip Summoned, he can destroy one card on the field and I choose your Inferno Wing, Jaden," Kasumi said and Inferno Wing, with a furious scowl, shattered. "But now I have to send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard."

She discarded three cards from her deck before pointing at Jaden and adding, "Now, Ryko, attack Jaden directly."

Ryko leapt forward and slashed at Jaden's duel disk.

**Jaden/Syrus: 7000**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****4700**

"I end my turn," Kasumi said.

"My turn, I draw," Syrus said, drawing a card, giving him six. "And Patroid, attack Alexis directly." Patroid surged forward, sirens blaring.

Jaden looked at Syrus with a frown. _Why didn't he use Patroid's Special Ability?_ He thought.

"I activate my facedown, Sakuretsu Armor, which destroys your attacking monster," Alexis said and Patroid slammed into a shield and shattered.

"Ah man," Syrus groaned. "I should've seen that coming."

_Maybe Zane's right and I really don't belong here,_ he thought.

"Relax, Sy," Jaden said. "You just made a mistake."

"Yeah, you forgot to use Patroid's Special Ability to see Alexis's facedown," Kasumi said. "You could've played something to stop it."

Syrus shook his head. "I know I'm no good. I don't belong here," he murmured.

"What? Sy, that's not what Kas meant," Jaden protested.

Syrus sighed. "I know. I know she didn't mean it. It's just…" he trailed off.

"You can do this, Syrus. Just don't give up!" Arina called from where she was sitting beside Chumley, watching the duel.

"I mean, duh! That's the first thing they teach you in Freshman Dueling class. I should know. I took it twice," Chumley called down.

Arina looked at Chumley with a raised eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

Syrus took a deep breath before nodding. "They're right. I'm not dueling just for myself. I'm dueling for Jaden, too. It's time I started acting like it," he said to himself before pushing aside his doubts and looking at his hand.

"I summon Submarineroid in Defense Mode and end my turn," Syrus said.

A blue-and-yellow submarine with eyes carrying a blue-and-orange missile also with eyes appeared on the field, holding a defensive position (A: 800/D: 1800).

Alexis drew a card, giving her four. "I summon Etoile Cyber in Attack Mode," she said, placing the card on her disk. A slender woman in a red body suit with ribbons around her arms and long, thick red hair appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1600).

"And now, Etoile Cyber, attack Jaden directly. And when she attacks someone directly, she gains 600 Attack," Alexis added as Etoile Cyber spun across the field and kicked Jaden.

**Jaden/Syrus: 5200**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****4700**

"I end my turn with that," Alexis added as Etoile Cyber returned to her side of the field.

Jaden drew a card so he now held two. "I activate my Trap, Hero Blast. This allows me to target one Normal Elemental Hero in my Graveyard and return it to my hand then I can destroy one face-up monster whose Attack is less than or equal to the chosen monster's Attack. I choose Elemental Hero Burstinatrix." He retrieved the card before adding, "And I choose to destroy Etoile Cyber."

Etoile Cyber shattered.

"Next, I summon Burstinatrix to my field in Attack Mode," Jaden added and the fiery heroine appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 800).

"Now, Burstinatrix, attack Ryko," Jaden ordered and the fiery heroine flew forward before unleashing a blast of fire toward Ryko.

"And I activate my Trap, Lightsworn Barrier. By sending the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard, I can negate your attack," Kasumi said before discarded her top two cards—Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress and Negate Attack—and the glittering pentagonal shield appeared around Ryko, blocking the attack.

"Dang. Ah well, I set one card and end my turn," Jaden said.

Kasumi drew a card, giving her five cards. "I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner to my field in Attack Mode and switch Ryko to Defense Mode," she said.

A female in a white dress and a white scarf around her neck and dangling behind her appeared on the field; she was dark-skinned with short blonde hair and golden bands around her upper arm (A: 1000/D: 1000). Also, Ryko knelt down.

"Next, I activate Lumina's Special Ability. By discarding one card, I can target one level 4 or below Lightsworn monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon them. I choose Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress."

Lumina's hands glowed pink and a portal appeared before a beautiful woman in a white-and-gold dress with a sheer white cape with gold along the edges and long black hair appeared, holding a golden staff (A: 1700/D: 200).

"Now, Lyla, attack Burstinatrix," Kasumi ordered and Lyla raised her staff before tossing a ball of light at the fiery heroine, causing her to cry out and shatter.

**Jaden/Syrus: ****4700**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 4700**

"And I activate my Trap, Hero Signal," Jaden said and a glowing H appeared in the sky. "Since you destroyed one of my monsters, I'm allowed to summon a level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my hand or deck. I choose Elemental Hero Heat."

Jaden retrieved the card from his deck before placing it on his duel disk. An armored warrior with red, silver and golden armor appeared on the field (A: 1600-1800/D: 1200).

"I end my turn," Kasumi said, "which means I have to send the top six cards on my deck to the Graveyard." She did that.

"My turn," Syrus said before he drew a card, giving him six. "And I switch Submarineroid to Attack Mode and, because of his effect, he can attack you directly."

Submarineroid disappeared beneath the ground before reappearing on Alexis and Kasumi's side of the field before attacking with its missile, knocking out some of the two girls' Life Points.

**Jaden/Syrus: 4700**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 3900**

"Nice move, Sy," Jaden said with a smile.

"And, because I attacked with Submarineroid, I can switch him back into Defense Mode," Syrus added and his submarine took a defensive position. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"My draw," Alexis said, drawing a card, giving her four. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Etoile Cyber before I sacrifice her in order to summon Cyber Prima to my field in Attack Mode."

Etoile Cyber reappeared, only to vanish and be replaced by the tall, slender woman in the pale-blue and gray jumpsuit with the long white hair from her duel with Kasumi (A: 2300/D: 1600).

"Cyber Prima, attack Heat," Alexis ordered.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack, to stop your attack and end the Battle Phase," Syrus said, immediately revealing his Trap and a shield appeared around Heat before stopping Prima's attack.

"Nice save, Sy," Jaden complimented the smaller Slifer and Syrus smiled.

"I end my turn," Alexis said.

"And it's my turn," Jaden said, drawing a card. "And I activate Card of Sanctity so that each of us draws until we have six cards in our hands."

Each player drew until they had a full hand.

"Next, I play R-Righteous Justice," Jaden added, holding out a card that had a golden R on it surrounded by a red burst. "This allows me to destroy a number of Spell or Trap cards depending on how many Elemental Heroes I have on my field and, since I only have one, I choose to destroy Lightsworn Barrier."

Kasumi's Trap shattered.

"Then, I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman to my field in Attack Mode," Jaden added and the blue-and-gold armored hero appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400) (Heat 1800-2000).

"Now, Heat, attack Kas's Lyla," Jaden ordered and fire surrounded Heat's fist and he swung it at Lyla, causing her to shatter.

**Jaden/Syrus: 4700**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****3600**

"Sparkman, attack Lumina, Static Shockwave," Jaden added and Sparkman unleashed a burst of electricity that crashed into Lumina and destroyed her.

**Jaden/Syrus: 4700**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 3000**

"I end my turn with one facedown," Jaden said and a vertical card appeared on the field.

"My turn," Kasumi said, drawing a card, which gave her seven. "And I activate my Trap, Glorious Illusion to Special Summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner back to my field in Attack Mode."

The blonde, dark-skinned Lightsworn monster with the white dress and scarf reappeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1000).

"Then, I activate Lumina's effect and discard one card to Special Summon Lyla back to my field in Attack Mode," Kasumi added and the black haired sorceress with the gold-trimmed white cape reappeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 200).

"Next, I sacrifice Ryko to summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel to my field in Attack Mode," Kasumi added and the white beast shattered before the beautiful blue haired angel appeared on the field (A: 2300/D: 200).

"And I activate her effect. By sending the top four cards of my deck to the Graveyard, I can target up to two cards you control and destroy them. I choose Heat and Sparkman," Kasumi said. She milled four cards from her deck and Celestia raised her staff; it glowed and both Sparkman and Heat shattered.

"Oh boy. She's got three monsters, Jay!" Syrus exclaimed, looking at them warily.

Jaden smiled at him. "Don't worry, Sy," he said.

"You probably should worry, Jay," Kasumi said with a smile. "Because I'm having all three of my monsters attack you. This duel's over. Celestia, attack!"

"No, it isn't. I activate The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh to summon my Winged Kuriboh to my field in Defense Mode," Jaden said, revealing his facedown as Kasumi's angel moved in to attack.

There was a flash of light and Winged Kuriboh appeared on the field, holding a defensive position (A: 300/ D: 200), forcing a Replay to occur.

_A good move, especially since Winged Kuriboh's effect turns all battle damage to zero if it's destroyed,_ Alexis thought.

"Well, good move, Jay," Kasumi said, "but not good enough. Since it'd be silly to attack your Winged Kuriboh, given its effect, I'll just have Celestia attack Syrus's Submarineroid instead!"

The Lightsworn Angel shifted her attack then, raising her staff and taking out the cartoonish submarine instead.

"And now that you're wide open, Sy, Lumina and Lyla can attack you directly. Go!"

Kasumi's remaining two Lightswrons sprang into action, attacking Syrus, one after the other, ultimately costing him and Jaden 2700 more Life Points.

**Jaden/Syrus: 2000**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 3000**

"I end my turn, which means I have to send the top eight cards of my deck to the Graveyard because of Lumina's and Lyla's effect and because of Glorious Illusion."

"You're running low on cards," Jaden said with a teasing smirk and Kasumi glared at him.

Syrus drew a card, giving him seven, before he gasped when he saw what it was. _Power Bond,_ he thought. _The card that Zane told me I was using wrong._

**Flashback**

_A younger version of Syrus faced off against a bigger opponent; the bully only had a facedown card on the field while Syrus had nothing._

_**Syrus: 1600**_

_**Bully: 1900**_

_"Alright, you're going down," Syrus said,__drawing his next card and he smiled._

Yes, Power Bond. The card my brother gave me. I'll win for sure now,_ he thought looking back at the bully._

_"Quit your stalling, you little pipsqueak. You're gonna lose and you know it, so let's just get it over with," the bully said angrily._

_"Yeah, well, that's what you think," Syrus said. "This duel is mine."_

_"Yeah right. The only thing that's gonna be yours is a serious butt-kicking."_

_Syrus laughed. "Sorry, but I'm not scared of all your nasty threats. Do you hear that? I'm not afraid of you anymore. You know why?" He raised his card,__about to play it. "'Cause I'm the one that's gonna take you down."_

_"Stop!"_

_Syrus fell to the ground as his happy moment was interrupted. He sat up before looking around. "Hey, who said that?"_

_A taller boy who looked to be a few years older than Syrus with navy-blue hair walked over to join them; it was a younger version of Syrus's older brother._

_"Zane?" Syrus said,__surprised._

_Zane walked to the bully and held out a card. "This duel never happened, got it? Just take this card and go," he said._

_The bully looked at the card and laughed. "Nice card, you got yourself a deal," he said,__taking the card and walking off._

_"What are you doing, Zane?" Syrus said as he got to his feet. "I was about to win this duel with the card you gave me."_

_Zane didn't turn around to ace him. "No,__you weren't, Syrus, and if I had known that you were going to misplay it, I'd never have given it to you in the first place," he snapped._

_"Misplay? What are you talking about? I wasn't gonna misplay it."_

_"Yes,__you were." Zane held up a card. "This is the facedown that kid had on the field."_

_Syrus looked and recognized it. "Spellbinding Circle?"_

_"That's right. This is a very powerful Trap Card, Syrus. When this Trap is sprung, the monster attacking is forced to stop its attack and it cannot change its battle position," Zane said. "So you would've attacked using a monster you summoned with Power Bond and its Attack Points would've doubled. But Spellbinding Circle would've prevented you from attacking with it and you would've taken a lot of damage to your Life Points at the end of your turn for using Power Bond."_

_Syrus knew that his brother was right and he lowered his head, tears welling in his eyes from the scolding._

_"You weren't thinking, Syrus, you didn't take into account the facedown card and you didn't take into account Power Bond's adverse effect. Sure,__you may know how to use Power Bond but there's a lot more to dueling than just that."_

**End Flashback.**

"Syrus? Did ya draw something good?" Jaden asked curiously.

"Uhh," Syrus was still looking at the card before he whispered, "Just holding this card again gives me the chills. And what did he mean that jut using it wasn't enough?"

"Sy?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Syrus said quickly as he added the card to his hand. "I play Polymerization to fuse the Gyroid and the Steamroid in my hand in order to create the Steam Gyroid."

A helicopter with cartoonish eyes and a toy train also with cartoonish eyes appeared before they fused together. They created a monster that had a train for a body and helicopter fan blades above it (A: 2200/D: 1800).

"Now, Steam Gyroid, go loco-motive and attack Lumina with Train Twister," Syrus ordered.

Steam Gyroid's fans rotated rapidly, creating a tornado that it flew through before it rose high into the air, curved and slammed into Lumina, causing the blonde Lightsworn monster to shatter along with Glorious Illusion.

**Jaden/Syrus: ****2000**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****1800**

"And I end my turn with that," Syrus said.

"My turn," Alexis said, drawing a card. "First, I'll equip Cyber Prima with Angel Wing."

Cyber Prima suddenly grew white wings.

"Next, I summon Blade Skater to my field in Attack Mode."

She placed the card on her disk and the purple and pale-purple warrior from Alexis's duel with Jaden appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 1500).

"Go, Cyber Prima, attack Steam Gyroid," Alexis ordered.

Cyber Prima danced across the field before kicking and destroying Steam Gyroid.

**Jaden/Syrus: 1900**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 1800**

"And you lose an extra 300 because of Angel Wing's effect," Alexis added as Cyber Prima's wings struck the Slifers again.

**Jaden/Syrus: 1600**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 1800**

"Now go, Blade Skater; attack Syrus directly."

Syrus winced when Blade Skater's kick connected with his abdomen and sent him skidding back.

**Jaden/Syrus: ****200**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****1800**

"I end my turn," the blonde Obelisk finished. "Looks like this duel's just about over for you two."

"Well, you know what they say: It's not over 'til the last card is played!" Jaden said, drawing his fourth card. He grinned when he saw what it was. "And what a card! I play Miracle Fusion to fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Burstinatrix in my Graveyard in order to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in Attack Mode!"

The fiery heroine in the red bodysuit and the green, feathered and winged hero appeared only to fuse together to create a red-and-green monster with a wing jutting out of its right side and a dragon's head in place of its left arm (A: 2100/D: 1200).

"Next, I activate H-Heated Heart to give Flame Wingman 500 more Attack," Jaden added and Wingman was surrounded by a flaming aura (A: 2100-2600).

"Now, Flame Wingman, attack Celestia," Jaden said and Flame Wingman unleashed a blast of fire from the dragon mouth that was his arm that slammed into Celestia and caused her to shatter.

**Jaden/Syrus: ****200**

**Alexis/Kasumi: ****1500**

"And now you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's Attack Points, and that's 2300!" Jaden added right before Flame Wingman swooped down on the girls and bathed them in flames—Kasumi jumped backwards with a yelp—that wiped out the rest of their Life Points.

**Jaden/Syrus: ****200 ****WINNERS**

**Alexis/Kasumi: 0**

"And that's game," Jaden said with a two-finger salute. "Sweet match, though. You're still as strong a player as ever, Alexis. And sorry about that, Kas."

Kasumi shivered. "It's okay," she said.

Jaden continued to observe her for a moment, watching her calm down, before he glanced back at Syrus. "So, are ya ready for our tag-duel, Sy?" he asked.

"Um, a little," the little Slifer said hesitantly, going to put the cards still left in his hand back into his deck but he bumped his hand and accidentally dropped them.

Jaden immediately knelt down to help him pick them up, only to pause when he spotted one card. "Power Bond?" he said, lifting up the card. "That's a sweet card! Man, if you had played this earlier, we might've won earlier."

"You don't understand, my big brother says I'm not good enough to play it and it's obvious that he's right," Syrus said sadly, taking the card back.

"Syrus…" Jaden began.

"I didn't even help you that much in this duel! It's obvious you won't be able to win the tag-duel with me as your partner," Syrus said before running off.

"Hey, wait! Syrus!" Jaden protested, wanting to tell Syrus that he was wrong and he did really help with the duel but the boy was already out of earshot before he had the chance.

"Syrus!" Chumley shouted before running off after Syrus. "I hate running," was the last thing Jaden heard him say before he got out of earshot.

**. . .**

"He did a good job," Arina said, "even if he doesn't believe so himself."

"He did," Jaden admitted with a frown. "But I don't get it. Syrus is a cool guy but he doesn't see what I see. He has a problem with believing in himself and he had this awesome Spell Card but didn't play it because his brother told him not to. Sy's brother doesn't seem like he's a good brother. I know Raiden would never say that to me."

Alexis looked at him, her eyes wide with shock.

Jaden noticed. "What is it, Alexis?" he asked. "Was it something I said?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that brother of his goes to this school. You've probably heard of him too," she said.

"Can't say that I have. Who are you talking about?" Jaden asked.

"Hello? Third year Obelisk student and the best duelist in the school? He's the Kaiser, the big man on Campus. Zane! And he's as good as his reputation, maybe even better."

"_Zane's_ Syrus's brother?" Jaden echoed, surprised, as it was Zane who had contacted him and told him about Raiden's disappearance the year before, saying that since Raiden was a friend, it was only right that his family knew about what happened to him. Jaden never told his parents though, as he felt they would not let him go to the Academy, but he did tell Kasumi; he just never told Kasumi who told him.

"Wait, you know him?" Kasumi echoed.

Jaden glanced at his sister. "I told you someone contacted me last year to tell me about Raiden's disappearance. It was Zane who contacted me," he said.

Alexis frowned a little. _If that's true then how come Zane only said it was possible Jaden was related to Raiden at the entrance exams?_ She wondered but decided against prying.

Jaden pressed his lips together. "But he doesn't sound like he's a very good big brother to Syrus. I wonder what happened to the two of them."

_'You're_ _going to duel him to figure it out, aren't you?_' Yubel asked.

_Of course,_ Jaden thought.

"Jaden, don't pry," Alexis warned him. "It's their problem, don't get involved."

Jaden just smiled. "I'm not gonna pry, Alexis. I'm gonna duel. I'm gonna duel him and find out what's going on."

"Jaden, you're not listening. No one duels Zane," Alexis protested.

"People duel Zane if their tag-team partner isn't playing up to snuff because of him," Jaden said. "Besides, I wanna see how I stack up against the best duelist in the school."

_Well, if he's not going to listen to me,_ Alexis thought before she smiled at him. "Good luck, then, Jaden, good luck," she said.

Jaden nodded. "Thanks, Alexis," he said.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 6**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: some little development for Kasumi that's gonna be important when we get to the Shadow Rider arc**

**Darth: and development on one of Blaze's biggest subplots in this story**

**Blaze: yup**

**Jaden: who are you again?**

**Blaze: (pulls out bazooka) step aside, Jay**

**Jaden: (confused but steps aside)**

**Kagemaru: hi**

**Blaze: (blasts Kagemaru with bazooka)**

**Jaden: erm…should I be worried?**

**Blaze: nope. I only do that to characters I don't like**

**Crowler: (gulps and takes off running)**

**Blaze: (chuckles) well, it's about time I included the author's note I use in all of my other stories. Please review and I will post chapter 7 as soon as it's beta-read and I finish editing it.**


	7. The Kaiser and the Family Business

**Wow, I got **_**eight**_** reviews last chapter. That's the most I've gotten on a **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**_** fic ever so I'm happy.**

**Thank you to **_**SuperNeos2, JxA fan 2000, decode9, EndlessNight025, iloveyugiohGX93, DarkZorua100, Vanishing Raptor, **_**and**_** bobmanv2.0 **_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And, once again, a second thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader who helped to point out some things that I plan on expanding on in later on in the story and have already hinted at in previous chapters.**

**Here is chapter seven and, because my beta-reader pointed it out to me, I'm gonna use Infernal Sniper's anime effect, instead of his real effect. Just thought I'd point that out. I hope that you like this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**7**

**The Kaiser and the Family Business**

Jaden was currently seated at a table in the card shop, filling out a Duel Request form with Kasumi watching him. Jaden was mumbling to himself. "I can't believe Zane. He seemed like an ok guy when he contacted me but, it's because of him that Sy's got no confidence at all. If Raiden ever told me that I wasn't good enough to use a good card—though I know that he wouldn't—I'd be insecure too. But now, that's gonna change." He paused in his writing before looking at Kasumi. "Do you spell Zane with two Ns?"

"I think it depends," Kasumi said.

"Man, these Duel Request forms are a drag," Jaden muttered, turning his gaze back to the form and unaware of the fact that a certain blond teacher was creeping up behind him.

"Duel Request form?" Crowler said, causing Kasumi, who hadn't noticed Crowler's presence either, to jump. He reached over Jaden's shoulder and took the form away before scanning it. "Planning a duel, eh? Against who?"

His eyes widened with surprise and then he smirked. "You must be joking," he said.

Jaden glared at the teacher. "No, I'm not. I'm gonna take Zane on in a duel to boost Syrus's confidence for our tag-match," he said.

"Ah yes, the big tag-team duel, the one where if you both lose, you'll both be expelled," Crowler said, shaking his head. "Now, you say that dueling Zane will prepare you for the match, well, that's too bad because there will be no duel."

Crowler then ripped the Duel Request form into pieces, laughing as he did so.

Jaden scowled. _I really don't like you,_ he thought.

**. . .**

"Look, it's not you, it's me. I'm sorry but I just can't use you in my deck anymore. I gottta make room for another Koala," Chumey, who was sitting on a tree branch, said; his deck was spread out before him and there was a Des Koala card in his hand. He looked at the deck and the card and then nodded.

"Yeah, fifteen ought to be enough," he said.

"Chumley?"

Chumley looked down to see Syrus looking up at him curiously. "What're you doing up there?"

"Arranging some cards in my deck."

"Oh."

Chumley began to pick up his cards when most of them fell from the tree branch. In an attempt to grab them all, Chumley ended up hanging upside down from the branch, looking like one of the koalas he loved.

"Hey, guys."

Chumley and Syrus looked to find Jaden and Kasumi in front of them with Chumley's cards scattered around his feet. "Hey, Jaden, Kasumi, what's up?" Chumley greeted him.

Jaden smiled as he and Kasumi knelt down to pick up the koala-boy's cards.

Kasumi chuckled. "Gees, that's a lot of koala cards," she said.

Chumley smiled. "Yeah, koalas so rule. Hey, you wanna have a pick-up duel against 'em?"

"Pick-up duel? Why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Chumley," Jaden exclaimed, handing the cards he had picked up to Kasumi before taking off.

"Hey, when did I become your pack mule?" Kasumi shouted.

"Where are you going?" Syrus called at the same time.

"The Obelisk Blue dorm," Jaden called over his shoulder.

"Why are you going there?" Chumley protested disbelievingly, nearly letting go of the branch.

"To duel Zane."

"The Zane?!" Chumley exclaimed, accidentally letting go of the branch and falling; Kasumi took one step forward and Chumley accidentally landed on top of Syrus.

"Ow!" the poor little Slifer protested.

Kasumi, with a small smile, helped Chumley get off Syrus before looking at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

**. . .**

Jaden was determined to enter the Blue Dorm and take on Zane.

Unfortunately, he was encountering some problems in the form of two Obelisks who refused to get out of the way and had pushed him to the ground.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Jaden growled, dusting himself off as he got to his feet.

The first of the two Obelisks—a boy with spiky brown hair—shook his head. "I don't have a problem, but you're gonna have one soon if you don't beat it, Slifer Slacker!"

His friend nodded. "Yeah, Zane wouldn't even waste his time with you. You're probably still wet behind the ears from Pre-Duel school.'

Jaden glared at him.

'_I'd_ _duck_,' Yubel said.

_What…?_ Was all Jaden could ask before he was soaked head to toe by the large bucket of water that the first Obelisk boy had dumped on him.

The Obelisks laughed. "Now, you are," the first one said before they walked off.

'_I_ _told you to duck,_' Yubel said as Jaden, scowling and glaring at the dorm, turned around before stalking off.

_We will duel, Zane, we will, _he thought.

**. . .**

Syrus finished writing the note before he put it on his bed and making it so that it looked like he was still there. _I'm not good enough to be here. Zane was right. I'm just going to go home. They'll find Jaden another duel partner if I leave, maybe even his sister,_ he thought before he left the dorm room.

**. . .**

Zane was standing by the lighthouse, as usual, when Alexis joined him; this time, Arina was with her. "Any news or trace yet?" he asked softly.

Alexis shook her head. "I can't believe he's still gone. I looked everywhere for a new sign but I always come up empty-handed," she said.

Zane simply folded his arms together. "Don't worry about it. You'll find him. Just don't give up."

"I didn't know you knew Jaden," Alexis said, after a few moments of silence. "You said it was only possible that Jaden was Raiden's brother at the entrance exams but he said you were the one that told him about his brother's disappearance."

"I was," Zane said monotonously. "But I never saw him. Besides, I always thought Raiden's brother's name was Judai because that was what Raiden called him."

"Maybe that's his real name and Jaden could be a nickname, or his middle name," Alexis suggested. She paused before adding, "He isn't too happy with you, especially not after your name came up during the tag-duel we had earlier and it wasn't in a good way."

Zane glanced at the blonde Obelisk with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess, the big bad brother, huh?" he said.

"He implied that was what he was thinking. He even said that his brother would never have done that to him," Alexis admitted.

"So what? Is he going to scold me?" Zane sounded amused.

"He actually wants to duel you," Arina said.

Zane turned his gaze back to the undulating waves of the ocean. "Tell him to meet me here in an hour," he said.

"You'll actually duel him?" Arina asked curiously.

"I am curious to see, for myself, how he stacks up to his brother."

**. . .**

Jaden was scowling while Haou was muttering curses in the back of the Slifer's mind as he, after changing into drier clothes, made his way into his dorm room with Chumley and Kasumi behind him, using a towel to dry his hair.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Chumley asked.

Jaden finished drying his hair. "I'm not gonna give up. That's what I'm gonna do, Chumley. One way or another, I'm gonna duel Zane."

"I think I can help you with that," Alexis said, walking over to join them with Arina just behind her.

"You can?"

"Yeah, we just talked to Zane. He said he'll duel you and to meet at the lighthouse in an hour, well, half an hour now," Arina said.

"Really?" Jaden looked excited and, when the Obelisk girls nodded, he punched the air, "Sweet! Let's get Sy and head over there now!"

The five of them entered Jaden's room and Jaden frowned when he noticed that Syrus was still in bed, cocooned in his blankets.

"He's asleep? It's the middle of the day," Kasumi said with a frown.

Jaden nudged the bundle. "C'mon, Syrus, get up. This is ridiculous. Even Chumley got up today."

"Yeah, lousy bladder," Chumley muttered.

Arina glanced at him. "That was too much information," she said.

Jaden pulled the blankets away only to find that the bed was empty and there was a note resting on it. Jaden frowned before picking it up and reading it aloud.

_Dear Jaden,_

_I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try and stop me. It's for the best. I'd only be holding you back if I stayed…_

Jaden stopped reading before he crumpled it. "Oh no, you're not, Syrus," he said, tossing the note away. "You're not going anywhere."

Chumley nodded. "Let's go stop him, after dinner."

"Not after dinner, now. I've still got time before my duel with Zane," Jaden said, running out of his dorm room.

"Aw, c'mon, tonight's grilled cheese," Chumley protested.

Kasumi shook her head, grabbed Chumley's blazer and began half-dragging him after Jaden. "We're going to help Syrus, now," she said firmly.

"Man, you're strong," Chumley grumbled.

Alexis and Arina looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

**. . .**

"Any idea where he could've gone, Yubel?" Jaden asked as he slowed down to a walk and began looking around.

_'My_ _guess would be the docks. If he wants to leave the island, that's the logical place to find a boat,_' Yubel said.

"Wait, I think I see something, over here," Kasumi called from where she stood on the cliff a few feet from the light house; neither of them noticed that Zane was there. "Look."

Jaden ran to Kasumi's side just in time to see Syrus pushing a raft of logs into the ocean. _'Syrus_ _is going out into the ocean on a raft of logs that look like it's about to fall apart. What a wonderful idea,_' Haou said sarcastically.

"Syrus, come back," Jaden called, making his way down from the cliff.

"Stay back, Jaden," Syrus shouted, climbing onto the raft and attempting to push it out into the water.

"No," Jaden said, leaping onto the raft, which caused it to shatter and dump both of them into the water.

_'Apparently, I'm the only one with common sense,_' Haou said.

_'And_ _what is that supposed to mean?_' Yubel demanded.

"Help me. I can't swim!" Syrus shouted as he flailed his arms while it only took Jaden a few moments to realize the water was shallow.

_'Oh_ _you've got to be kidding me!_' Haou exclaimed. _'The_ _idiot can't swim but he was about to go out into the middle of the ocean?_'

"It's shallow," Jaden mused, ignoring Haou before he grabbed Syrus's shoulders. "Relax, Sy, it's shallow."

"Oh." Syrus blushed in embarrassment before it was replaced by a sad look. "But why did you come after me? I stink."

He shivered as he said that before he added, "They'll assign you a new tag-team partner. Just let me go and you'll have a much better shot at winning the match without me."

"Sy, that's just your brother talking. You gotta believe in yourself," Jaden insisted.

"You gotta believe me," Syrus said with a sob, tears and salt water streaking down his face. "I'm a lost cause."

"He is right, you know," a cool yet familiar voice said.

Jaden turned to find a tall, navy-blue-haired boy in the white variation of the male-Obelisk uniform standing on a nearby path. "So you're Zane," Jaden said, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at the third year Obelisk.

Zane ignored him, his gray eyes fixed on Syrus. "You dropping out, little brother?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda," Syrus murmured.

"Hmph, it's about time," Zane said, closing his eyes and turning away.

Syrus lowered his head and moved away toward where some of the logs from what was left of his raft.

Jaden turned his glower from Zane to Syrus and his eyes softened. "He's wrong, Syrus," he said but all he heard in response was a sob.

"You're his brother. Why the heck would you say something like that?" Kasumi exclaimed.

"Because I know him," Zane said calmly.

Alexis gasped.

Jaden narrowed his eyes. "You're wrong, Zane. Let's duel," he said as he waded out of the water.

Zane raised an eyebrow before smirking. "That is why I am here," he said.

"He's good, Jaden, don't do it," Syrus said pleadingly.

"I'm sure he is good, Syrus," Jaden said.

_I'm also sure that this will help Sy's confidence problem, without hurting mine,_ he thought.

The gang decided to postpone the duel for another hour to give Syrus time to dry off and for Jaden to grab the duel disk he forgot to grab when he left his dorm to find Syrus. Now, they were standing by the lighthouse; Zane and Jaden across from each other.

"Time to get your game on, Zane," Jaden said, activating his duel disk.

Zane simply nodded once as he, too, activated his duel disk.

"Duel," they both declared as they drew their opening hands.

**Zane: 4000**

**Jaden: 4000**

"I'll start," Jaden said, drawing his sixth card. _Now let's see if I can figure out what's going on with Sy and his brother. And how I rank up against the best_, he thought. "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos to my field in Attack Mode,"—a blue armored warrior with metallic wings in which were spinning fans appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 300)—"and, when he's Normal Summoned, I can add one Hero monster to my hand,"—he retrieved Clayman—"then I'll throw down a face down and end my turn."

Zane drew his sixth card. "That's all, huh? Okay. For my first move, I summon Cyber Dragon in Attack Mode," he said.

A silver metallic dragon appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2100/D: 1600).

"How were you able to summon a Level Five monster on your first turn?" Jaden asked.

'_It's his Special Ability,_' Yubel replied.

"I can play Cyber Dragon because it's my first turn, Jaden," Zane explained. "With no monsters of my own on the field, and one on yours, it requires no sacrifices. Now, I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card."

"That was fast," Jaden mused as his card shattered when the mini-tornado hit it.

"Not as fast as your Life Points will go down. Cyber Dragon, attack Stratos with Strident Blast," Zane ordered and his metallic dragon rose and let out a stream of fire that engulfed Stratos.

**Zane: 4000**

**Jaden: 3700**

Syrus watched the match. _I tried to warn him that Zane was good,_ he thought.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Different Dimension Capsule," Zane said, holding up a card and slipping it into a card slot.

A sarcophagus with a clock etched in the center appeared.

"This allows me to take a card from my deck, place it into the capsule and, in two turns, add it to my hand."

Jaden watched as the capsule opened up before closing once the hologram of the card was inside it and then it sank into the ground. "That's gotta be the best card in his entire deck. I can't wait to see what comes out of there."

_I can 'cause it's not gonna be pretty,_ Syrus thought.

"It's your move, Jaden," Zane said.

_I'd better make this move count,_ Jaden thought. _Because I'm starting to see that he might be as good as everyone says he is, maybe even better, but that doesn't matter. I just hope I can get through to Zane about how bad of a brother he's been to Syrus._

Jaden drew a card before looking at it and then glancing at the cards in his hand. "And I'm gonna rock with Polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Sparkman in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant in Attack Mode."

His clay warrior and his blue-and-gold armored appeared before fusing together. A golden armored warrior with a crackling ball of blue energy in his chest appeared soon after (A: 2400/D: 1500).

"And now, since Thunder Giant's Special Ability destroys one monster on the field whose Attack is less than his own, your Cyber Dragon is destroyed," Jaden added and Cyber Dragon shattered.

"Now, Thunder Giant, attack Zane directly," Jaden ordered and Thunder Giant unleashed a blast of lightning that struck Zane, but the navy-blue-haired Obelisk didn't so much as flinch.

**Zane: 1600**

**Jaden: 3700**

"You could, at least, flinch a little," Jaden muttered.

'_I_ _can make him flinch a whole lot,_' Haou said.

_'No_ _one was talking to you,_' Yubel said coolly.

"Oh well, maybe this facedown will get you later," Jaden added, placing the card in a card slot before signaling the end of his turn.

"Nice moves, kid," Zane said, as he drew a card. "Now that my field is empty again, I can bring out another Cyber Dragon."

A metallic dragon identical to the one that was just destroyed appeared (A: 2100/D: 1600).

"Or better yet, two." Zane held up a card and added, "I play the Spell Card Monster Reborn. With just one monster in my Graveyard you can guess who I'm bringing back."

His first Cyber Dragon was revived and growling as it appeared next to the second one (A: 2100/D: 1600).

"But neither will be here for long," Zane said as he took another card form his hand and added, "In present form anyway. I activate Polymerization. Dragons, unite." His two Cyber Dragons began to fuse together. "Cyber Twin Dragon, emerge."

The two Cyber Dragons vanished to be replaced by a metallic dragon with two dragon heads; each head had a different colored gem on it, one was yellow while the other was blue (A: 2800/D: 2100).

"Twin Dragon?" Chumley gazed at the creature in awe. "One was tough enough."

"My Twin Dragon can attack twice in a round, Jaden," Zane said before pointing to Thunder Giant. "Meaning, double trouble for your monster and your Life Points. Twin Dragon, attack."

"Not so fast. I activate my Trap, A Hero Emerges. Normally, you'd have to randomly select a card from my hand and if it was a monster, I'd get to summon it. But since it's the only card in my hand, I'll just bring it out. Wroughtweiler, in Defense Mode."

A large, black metal dog crouched on the field beside Thunder Giant (A: 800/D: 1200).

"You'll need him, Jaden. Cyber Twin Dragon, Double Strident Blast," Zane ordered and his two-headed dragon let loose two blast of fire that destroyed both monsters on Jaden's side of the field.

**Zane: 1600**

**Jaden: 3300**

Jaden smirked. "Glad you did that. 'Cause when Wroughtweiler is destroyed, his Special Ability lets me take one Polymerization and one Elemental Hero from my Graveyard and add them to my hand. Just when you probably thought you can stop worrying about them, huh, Zane?'

"I don't worry," Zane said calmly.

Jaden's smirk became a full-blown smile. "Man, you're chill, not even flinching or worrying. You are good," he said.

A small smile crossed his face. "Thanks. You're good too, Jaden. I'm starting to see that your brother was right about you," he said.

_Huh? Since when did Zane give props?_ Syrus wondered silently.

"Raiden talked about me?" Jaden echoed, surprised.

Zane nodded. "Though he kept calling you Judai," he said.

Jaden smiled a little sadly. "I gave up trying to get my brother to stop calling me by my first name a long time ago," he admitted.

"Wait, so your real name is Judai?" Chumley asked.

"Yeah, but I don't really like it," Jaden admitted.

Kasumi frowned for there was something in his voice that suggested he wasn't being completely honest.

"Raiden calls me that because he knows it irritates me," Jaden went on. "Now, where was I? Oh, right." He drew a card—giving him five—before examining it. "All right. I play the Spell, Dark Fusion, to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand in order to summon Evil Hero Infernal Sniper to my field in Defense Mode."

"What? Jaden…" Kasumi began.

"Yubel said it was fine," Jaden assured his sister—the others just looked at him, confused—as his clay warrior and his fiery heroine fused together. In their place was a clay warrior with red armor covering most of his body and a blaster on his arm (A: 2000/D: 2500).

"Lishus, Twin Dragon may be able to destroy that Sniper but Jaden's Life Points are still safe," Chumley said.

"And next I activate Infernal Sniper's effect, which deals you 1000 points of damage once per turn." Infernal Sniper aimed his blasters at Zane before firing, though Zane didn't flinch when the blast hit him.

**Zane: 600**

**Jaden: 3300**

_A good move,_ Zane thought.

_Nice job, Jay,_ Kasumi thought.

_Wow, maybe Jaden can actually win,_ Syrus thought, until he remembered that his brother's next turn would mean the return of his best card.

"I end my turn," Jaden said. "Gimme your best shot, Zane."

"My best? All right, you got it," Zane said, drawing a card as his capsule reappeared from the dirt, chunks rolling off it.

_Oh no,_ Syrus thought.

"It's been two turns since I first activated Different Dimension Capsule and now I can take the card I put in it and add it to my hand," Zane said before he placed the card in his hand and looked straight at Jaden. "You played well, but not well enough."

"Just gimme what you got, Zane. I'm ready for it," Jaden said.

"I'm sure you are, Jaden. You really are a lot like your brother. A good duelist is ready for anything. Even knowing the difference between using a card and playing it can make the difference in a duel," Zane said, glancing at Syrus briefly before he looked back at Jaden and bowed his head slightly, "and you play your cards well, Jaden."

_That's a good compliment but even better advice. I hope Syrus is listening right now,_ Jaden thought.

Syrus was listening. _Of course. That's what he meant by what he said all those years ago. Using and playing your cards are two different things. I understand now,_ he thought.

Kasumi smiled as she looked at Syrus. _He and Jaden are going to be just fine in their tag-duel, I'm sure of it,_ she thought.

"First, I'll play De-Fusion and spit up my Cyber Twin Dragon into two separate Cyber Dragons,"—Zane paused as his monster divided itself into two dragons—"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Power Bond."

He inserted the card into a card slot before adding, "This card allows me to summon a Machine-Type fusion monster and, with the final Cyber Dragon in my hand, I can fuse them together to create the Cyber End Dragon!"

Jaden and the rest of the gang watched in amazement as a winged metallic dragon appeared with three heads attached to his body and roars escaping from all three heads (A: 4000/D: 2800).

"Wow!" Kasumi exclaimed. "That is one cool monster."

"Also, thanks to Power Bond's ability, when I summon a Fusion Machine-Type monster with it, its Attack Points are doubled." (Cyber End A: 4000-8000).

"8000?!" the spectators exclaimed in shock.

"No way," Kasumi breathed.

"And keep in mind, Jaden, when Cyber End Dragon attacks, the difference between his Attack Points and your Monster's Defense Points are dealt to you as damage."

"Oh boy," Jaden said.

"Just hang in there, Jaden," Chumley called. "If you can survive the attack, you can win this duel for sure thanks to his Spell Card's effect."

Alexis nodded. "That's right. At the end of the turn Power Bond is used, the one who used the card gets dealt damage equal to the attacking monster's original Attack Points," she said.

_Yeah, but that won't matter if you play it right,_ Syrus thought. _And Zane has. I just wish it wasn't at Jaden's expense._

"Jaden lost," Kasumi said softly since Jaden had nothing on the field to protect his monster.

"Cyber End Dragon, attack Infernal Sniper. Super Strident Blaze," Zane ordered. "Finish this duel!"

Jaden simply watched and prepared himself as a blast from Cyber End Dragon struck Infernal Sniper and he shattered; the leftover damage hit him dead on but he managed to stay on his feet.

**Zane: 600 WINNER  
Jaden: 0**

"I can't believe it, he lost," Alexis breathed.

"No! Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed, running to join his friend.

Jaden simply smirked at Zane. "Great duel, Zane, but I do want a rematch," he said.

Zane simply chuckled and turned away. He looked back and smiled slightly, locking eyes with Syrus. They stood there for a moment before Zane turned away again and walked away. Alexis and Arina jogged after him while Kasumi moved to Jaden's side.

"So, what do you think?" Alexis asked as she fell into step beside Zane.

"Doubt he had me but he definitely is as good as Raiden said he was. Also, I think Syrus has chosen some good friends," he said quietly.

"Your brother really has some great skills," Jaden said as Zane and the other two Obelisks left.

Syrus shrugged. "Maybe but Mom says I got the looks in the family."

Kasumi burst out laughing and it wasn't long before Jaden and Chumley joined in; Syrus laughed too before he stopped.

"Wait, what's so funny?" he asked.

Jaden, gaining control of his laughter, shook his head. "Come on. Let's go to our room and work on our decks. While we're at it, let's rearrange your deck so that you can use Power Bond," he said.

"Yeah, good idea. Now I know how to play it, not just use it," Syrus said with a nod.

Chumley's stomach started to growl. "You know what I could use?" the koala-boy said. "A couple of grilled cheese sandwiches."

Jaden chuckled. "Are you gonna head back to your own dorm, Kas?" he asked, looking at his sister.

"Nah, I think I'll go catch up with Alexis and Arina," Kasumi said before she jogged away.

Jaden watched her go, shrugged and looked back at Chumley and Syrus. "Race ya to the dorm," he said before taking off with Chumley and Syrus jogging after him.

**. . .**

The following day, it was dark as two men in a row boat headed toward Duel Academy. The man who was rowing was beside a muscular man who was staring at the direction in which they were rowing.

"Row faster," the muscular man ordered. "I want to be at Duel Academy by daybreak."

"Yes, sir," the other man said in a strained voice.

_I won't have my son wasting one more day slacking off,_ the muscular man thought; he wore a white muscle shirt and pants and his face was identical to a certain Slifer, except that it was angular and lacked the fat.

**. . .**

That morning, it was a couple of days before Jaden and Syrus's Discipline Duel and most people thought that they were going to get kicked out because they heard that professionals were coming in. Kasumi had the utmost confidence in them as did Alexis and Bastion and even Arina but, inwardly, Kasumi was worried and her adopted brother knew that she was.

"Are you okay, Kas?" Jaden asked. He and his sister were currently relaxing on the ground beneath a tree near the school.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kasumi said.

Jaden raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing her. "Kas, you don't sound fine," he said.

Kasumi sighed; she forgot that, because of Jaden's strong connection to Yubel, it was easier for him to figure out how someone really felt. "I'm just…worried," she said.

"Worried? Why?"

"If you lose then you're gonna get expelled, Jay. Aren't you at least a little worried?"

Jaden shrugged. "Nah, Sy and I got this," he said before he rested his back against the tree.

Kasumi played with the grass around her, looking down. "I don't know what I'd do if you got expelled, Jay," she said softly.

"Kas…"

"I'm considering dropping out if that happens."

"Don't." Jaden placed a hand on his sister's arm, causing Kasumi to look at him, before he gave her a small smile. "Don't even consider that. I know you love dueling, I know you're happier here and I also know you want to find out what happened to Raiden. If I do get expelled, which isn't gonna happen by the way, then you should stay."

"But it was my fault you were in the Abandoned Dorm," Kasumi protested.

"No it wasn't, Kas. I chose to enter the dorm because I wanted to find some sort of clue as to what happened to Raiden. The Abandoned Dorm was my only lead and I did find a lead. That's gotta count for something. You didn't do anything. You were kidnapped by that idiot Titan so it was, in no way, your fault," Jaden said firmly.

Kasumi sighed. "I guess," she said softly before she looked down and began playing with a blade of grass again.

Jaden gazed up at the sky above his head. "Hey, look, doesn't that cloud look like a shrimp?" he asked.

Kasumi also looked up, though she knew her adopted brother was just trying to distract her. "No, I think it looks like a caterpillar," she said, when she spotted the cloud Jaden was pointing at.

"Are you sure? I could've sworn it was a shrimp."

"You're obsessed with shrimp."

Jaden's response; he shoved Kasumi playfully. "I am not," he said.

"Are too," Kasumi said, smirking and pushing Jaden.

"Jaden!"

Kasumi and Jaden looked up to find Syrus running toward them.

"Jaden, you have to come quickly. Something terrible has happened," Syrus said.

"You flunked the Traps test, didn't ya?" Jaden asked.

"Actually, I got a B," Syrus said with a grin before he turned serious again and added, "but that's not it. Chumley's dad is here?"

"So what? Did he raid our fridge?" Jaden asked and was rewarded with a slap upside the head, delivered to him by Kasumi. "Ow!"

"What's actually happening, Syrus?" Kasumi asked.

"He came to force Chumley to drop out," Syrus said.

Jaden gasped before he quickly got to his feet. "No way, not our buddy," he said. He and Syrus, with Kasumi just behind them, dashed off to the Slifer dorm where a group of Slifers were peeking into Professor Banner's room.

When Kasumi, who was peeking into the room from between Jaden and Syrus, caught sight of Chumley's dad, she frowned. "Wow, he looks like a body builder," she said.

"I guess if you were carrying around Chumley as a baby, you'd have to be," Syrus said.

Inside, Professor Banner and Mr. Huffington were talking, unaware of the eavesdropping Slifers and one Obelisk.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," Mr. Huffington was saying. "If Chumley was any good at dueling, that'd be one thing. But he's clearly not. He's wasting his time here. It's time for him to give up dueling and come on home."

_Jaden_ and Syrus gasped.

"I see your point," Banner said neutrally. "Chumley is a bit…uh…" He started to chuckle nervously.

"You can say it. He's a dunce," the muscular man said. "That's why I want him to come on home and join the family business."

"And what business would that be?"

"The hot sauce making business," Mr. Huffington said, banging his fist on the table and spooking the professor and his cat. "You do like hot sauce, don't you?"

"Oh, of course, I can't get enough of it," Banner said nervously, though it was obvious to those listening in that he was just trying to stay on the big man's good side.

"Loud and clear," Huffington said, bringing out a tall bottle, wrapped in red paper with a picture of chili peppers on it. "Free sample."

"Oh no, I couldn't," Banner said, still sounding nervous.

"Oh yes, you could," Mr. Huffington said, glaring at the teacher. "Just think of it as a goodbye gift from the family."

"So, he's really dropping out?" Syrus asked.

"Not if we can help it," Jaden said. "Come on, we need to talk some sense into him." The two Slifers and one Obelisk ran up to the Slifers' room to find Chumley packing things into his backpack.

"Chumley, what are you doing?" Jaden asked.

_'What_ _does it look like he's doing?_' Haou said with a sneer.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Chumley asked harshly.

_'That_ _was weird,_' Haou murmured.

"It looks like you're giving up. That you're taking everything you ever worked for and throwing it all away, like you're abandoning all of your dreams and you don't even care!" Jaden exclaimed. At least, that was until the older Slifer turned around and the three of them saw tears in his eyes.

"Chumley does care," Kasumi said softly.

"No, I just have something in my eyes. That's all," Chumley said quickly as he rubbed his eyes. "Now, just leave me alone, will you? I mean, it's not like I'm worth wasting your time on anyway, at least not according to my dad."

"I doubt that's it," Kasumi said. "I mean, you came to this school, didn't ya? You must have had a reason."

"I…I just…I know that I can be a good duelist. I even have a special power. Sometimes, I can hear Duel Monsters talking to me."

"So can I and so can Kas, even though she doesn't like to," Jaden said. "So did you tell this to your father?"

"Of course not," Chumley said with tears in his eyes. "Everything to him is just hot sauce, hot sauce, hot sauce."

"Then why don't we go and tell him now?" Jaden said before he took Chumley's arm and guided him out of the dorm room

**. . .**

The three Slifers and Kasumi went to Chancellor Sheppard's office where they found Professor Banner and Mr. Huffington. They explained the situation. "So there you have it," Jaden finished. "Chumley can't be allowed to drop out. He has a gift."

"Yeah, a gift for eating grilled cheese," Mr. Huffington said coolly.

_That's harsh,_ Kasumi thought.

"Look, I know Chumley. I'm his roommate, not to mention his friend," Jaden said.

"Yeah, me too," Syrus said.

"I am his friend too," Kasumi said.

"Look, boys and Kasumi, I respect you for sticking up for your friend like this," Sheppard said. "But I'm afraid that this is a personal matter that has to be settled between Chumley and his father without interference from outsiders."

"That's right. It's family business," Mr. Huffington added. "And I know Chumley a lot better than any of you. I know his real worth and, right now, the only worth he has is to bottle hot sauce at the family factory. But if you're so dead set on this gift of yours, then we'll settle this with a duel."

"Huh?" the three Slifers and one Obelisk said.

"If you win, you get to stay here but if I win, you're coming home," Mr. Huffington said before looking at Sheppard. "Is that fine with you, Chancellor?"

"Agreed," Sheppard said with a nod. "It'll be first thing tomorrow morning."

**. . .**

"I knew it'd be a piece of cake to convince Chumley's dad to let him stay at the Academy," Jaden said as the group left the main building.

"You only convinced him to a duel. Chumley still has to win if he's gonna stay," Syrus said.

_'And_ _don't underestimate your friend's father,_' Yubel said.

Jaden glanced at the demonic monster who was floating at his side before he shrugged. "He could be an amateur," he pointed out.

"Actually, he's a three-time state dueling champion," Banner said.

"Huh, who would've guessed?" Jaden mused.

"Is he really?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes. Why do you think he was so insistent on sending Chumley to Dueling School?" Banner said. "To become more like him, and wait until you see his deck. As you already figured out, he makes a living off his special hot sauce. Well, his deck reflects the kick of this sauce. Just as it can take you out in one sip, so can his deck take you out in one turn." The group gasped. "And, oh, the morning after."

"Sounds like how people get when they drink too much," Kasumi mused while the rest of the group face-faulted.

"So, Chumley challenged his father to a duel knowing all that?" Jaden asked and everyone looked at Chumley to see the determined scowl on his face. They smiled.

"Chumley, you must really want to stay here, huh?" Kasumi said before she reached into her deck and pulled out a card and held it out; it was a Polymerization. "Then take this. Jaden gave it to me a few years ago but my deck doesn't really use Fusion monsters so maybe you can make use of it."

Chumley took the card, looking surprised. "Thank you," he said.

"Come on. Let's get to work on your deck," Jaden said. "See ya Kas, Professor." Without another word, the three Slifers ran toward the Slifer Dorm.

"Well, I should be getting back. Goodnight, Professor Banner," Kasumi said to the Slifer Headmaster before she headed towards the Obelisk Girl's Dormitory.

**. . .**

Back in Banner's room, he and Mr. Huffington were talking and sharing a bottle of hot sauce. The muscular man didn't seem worried about the match the next day.

"Another sip, Professor," Mr. Huffington asked as he poured some in the cup.

"You're too kind. You have my thanks," Banner replied.

"My pleasure," Mr. Huffington then looked at Pharaoh who was drinking the sauce in his dish. "And your cat agrees, from the look of things."

"Yes. Good thing I stocked up on kitty litter."

**. . .**

"What's with all of Chumley's cards? They're all Koala cards," Jaden said. He, Syrus and Chumley were sitting on the floor in their dorm, looking through Chumley's cards.

"Koalas are my favorite, duh," Chumley snapped.

"No offense, Chumley, koalas are cool, but…" Syrus began.

"Can you win with them?" Jaden asked. "After all, isn't that the point of a Duel Monsters game, to win?"

"Here, try this," Syrus said; he held out a card depicting a kangaroo dressed like a boxer. "I got it a while back but never used it. Maybe you can use it."

"Really, Sy?"

"Yeah. If you join it with one of your koalas, you'll have a deck from down under."

Jaden remembered a card he had that he was sure Chumley would be able to use, and went to fish it out. "I think this will really come in handy," he said, holding out the card for Chumley to take.

He looked at it, surprised, before he smiled gently.

Outside, Mr. Huffington pressed his lips together as he heard the talk. _He really has good friends,_ he thought before he walked away.

**. . .**

The following morning, the gang, Kasumi included, met Mr. Huffington and Banner in what looked like an old dojo somewhere in the main building.

"All right, Chumley, Mr. Huffington, you both know what the stakes are of this match," Professor Banner said. "If Chumley wins, he gets to stay at school. If he loses, well, he returns home."

"That's right," Mr. Huffington agreed. "Or my hot sauce won't chap your lips.

Banner looked at Chumley. "Chumley, are you sure you want to go through with this? Going to work at your father's factory? Chapped lips."

"I can handle anything right now," Chumley said, narrowing his eyes.

Banner nodded. "Now, without further ado, let's begin the duel, gentlemen."

"Duel," Chumley and Mr. Huffington declared as they activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

**Chumley: 4000**

**Mr. Huffington: 4000**

"Here I come," Chumley announced as he drew his sixth card. "Totally licious. I'm going to play Des Koala in Attack Mode."

A koala with brown and white fur with leaves in his mouth appeared (A: 1100/D: 1800).

"A mistake on the first turn," Kasumi said with a shake of her head.

"In Attack Mode?" Chumley's dad also saw the mistake. "Don't you know that if you set him in Defense Mode and then flip him into Attack Mode later, Des Koala's Special Ability deals me 400 points of damage for every card in my hand?"

Chumley slumped. "Duh, of course I know that, now."

"Well, now it's too late. You should've taken your studies more seriously." Mr. Huffington said as he drew a card. "Maybe now you'll learn."

"Watch closely, children," Banner said to Jaden, Syrus and Kasumi. "You may learn something."

"Seeing as he's a state champion, I don't doubt it," Jaden said. "I hope it isn't that one turn finisher he's known for."

Syrus gulped.

"Ready, son, because here I come! I summon Dizzy Tiger in Attack Mode."

A humanoid tiger wearing khaki slacks and holding a bottle appeared and began to sway as if he was dizzy, hence the name (A: 1800/D: 600).

"Weird," Jaden said.

"So what's it dizzy from?" Syrus asked.

"Hot sauce, probably," Kasumi said. "Either that or he's drunk."

"Dizzy Tiger, attack. Hot Sauce Slash," Mr. Huffington ordered and the tiger struck, causing Des Koala to shatter and covering Chumley in odor that caused him to cough.

"That's hot sauce, all right," Chumley said, covering his mouth.

**Chumley: 3300**

**Mr. Huffington: 4000**

"That stinks," Jaden said.

"But his attack sure didn't," Syrus said.

The dizzy tiger looked like he was having trouble staying on his feet.

"At this rate, we'll be home just in time for dinner," Mr. Huffington said, "which is hot sauce, I might add."

"I'll tell you what you can do with your hot sauce," Chumley snapped.

"Hey, keep your cool, Chumley," Jaden called.

"It's nice that he's standing up for himself in front of his dad, though," Syrus commented, and, upon receiving a glare from Mr. Huffington, he ducked behind Jaden and Kasumi.

"Chum, fight back," Jaden called.

"I know," Chumley said as he drew a card. "Yeah, this could work. Okay, I activate the Spell Card, Koala March. This lets me summon a Koala monster back from my Graveyard as long as it's a Level 4 or below."

His Des Koala reappeared (A: 1100/D: 1800).

"Check it out, Jaden, now Chumley has his Des Koala on the field again."

"Shame he can't use his Special Ability, but at least he has some defense," Kasumi said.

"I just hope he can work it better this time around."

"And it's not 'it' it's 'them'," Banner corrected. "Koala March also lets him summon a monster from his hand as long as it's the same one he brought back from the Graveyard and, if I know Chumley…"

"I summon another Des Koala in Attack Mode," Chumley declared and another koala joined the first (A: 1100/D: 1800). "And I sacrifice them both to summon Big Koala."

A giant koala with blue fur appeared on the field (A: 2700/D: 2000).

"Well, it's pretty obvious why it was called 'Big' Koala," Kasumi mused, looking up at the koala that almost reached the ceiling.

"Not bad," Mr. Huffington commented.

"No duh, not bad. Now, Big Koala, attack Dizzy Tiger, Take Down from Down Under," Chumley ordered and Big Koala sprinted forward on all fours before picking Dizzy Tiger up and smashing it into the ground, causing it to shatter.

**Chumley: 3300**

**Mr. Huffington: 3100**

"Dizzy Tiger's gonzo," Chumley announced as his friends cheered for him.

"So you want to fight, huh?" Mr. Huffington said as he drew a card. "Well, let's fight. I call Dizzy Angel to the field."

A man in a white suit with long blonde hair, white wings, and a large hot sauce bottle in one hand appeared before he began swaying (A: 1800/D: 600).

"He reeks of hot sauce too," Chumley commented. "And from the looks of it, he's been hitting it hard."

_'Come_ _over here and say that,_' a drunken voice from Dizzy Angel said.

_Weird, I'm hearing those voices again,_ Chumley thought.

"I activate the Spell, Hot Sauce Bottle," Huffington said, playing the card and a large red bottle appeared in front of Dizzy Angel, who looked at it passionately. "And I also activate the Spell Card, Flipping the Table."

The ground underneath the dueling field became a low table and, to the surprise of everyone, Huffington flipped it and sent both monsters into the air. Big Koala fell onto the ground hard enough to shatter and Chumley's dad laughed.

"This card destroys everything on my field, except for itself that is. Then you get the same number of cards on your side of the field destroyed. Now you're left defenseless," he said.

"That's obviously the one turn kill that Banner was talking about," Kasumi mused.

"I don't know if I like it. It totally resets the field; it's hardly fair," Jaden said.

_'Life_ _is never fair,_' Yubel said.

_True._

"That's just like you," Chumley said angrily. "You don't like something, so you trash it."

"I didn't get to be state champion three years in a row by being nice, son," his father retorted just as Dizzy Angel reappeared on the field and started swaying again.

"What's Dizzy Angel doing back? Shouldn't he have been destroyed by Flipping the Table?"

"Wishful thinking. You see Dizzy Angel has a Special Ability. It can't be destroyed by the effect of Flipping the Table," Mr. Huffington replied.

"Oh great. This guy's going to continue to weird me out," Chumley muttered when the angel started doing a drunken version of the Egyptian dance.

"It gets worse, because when my one Hot Sauce Bottle is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, its Special Ability activates, dealing you 500 points of damage."

A red smoke covered Chumley's field and he covered his mouth.

"Eww, is that what stinks?"

**Chumley: 2800**

**Mr. Huffington: 3100**

"But I'm not done yet. Dizzy Angel, go in for your attack. Hot Sauce Sizzler," Mr. Huffington said and the angel fired a blast from his bottle.

**Chumley: 1000**

**Mr. Huffington: 3100**

"I just can't win," Chumley cried.

"Don't talk like that," Kasumi snapped.

_Don't worry, son, this will be over soon, _Mr. Huffington thought. "Make your move, why don't you?"

"But make sure you think it through, Chumley," Banner said as Pharaoh yawned. "One wrong move and you'll be back home bottling hot sauce."

"Duh, I know," Chumley said as he drew a card. It was the card Syrus gave him last night and he also had Kasumi's Polymerization. I guess now is as good a time as any to use these, he thought. "First, I play the Spell Card, Silent Doom. With it, I can bring a Normal monster back to the field from my Graveyard. And I choose Big Koala."

The koala reappeared, holding a defensive position (A: 2700/D: 2000).

_I won't get kicked out without a fight._ "Next, I activate Polymerization. With it, I'll fuse the Big Koala I have out on the field with the Des Kangaroo in my hand."

A green kangaroo wearing a purple jacket and boxing gloves appeared before it fused together with Big Koala.

"To create the Master of Oz," Chumley declared.

A gigantic green koala with large red shoes and red boxing gloves, wearing a purple jacket with gold along the hem appeared on the field (A: 4200/D: 3700).

"Good move, Chumley," Kasumi said.

_Like I didn't see that coming,_ Mr. Huffington thought, recalling what he learned while spying on the boys.

"Now go, Oz, Out Back Attack," Chumley commanded and the Master of OZ punched Dizzy Angel, knocking it off the field and it shattered.

**Chumley: 1000**

**Mr. Huffington: 700**

"I'm still here," Mr. Huffington said.

"So bring it," Chumley challenged.

"Oh man. Chumley almost had him," Syrus muttered.

"It's going right down to the wire," Jaden said in agreement.

"Chumley, you fought a good duel but you lost," Mr. Huffington said.

"What are you talking about? Master of Oz has 4200 Attack Points," Chumley said.

"That doesn't matter. You forget, with one flip of the table, he'll be gone."

"That card doesn't scare me because I know its weakness."

"Flipping the Table has a weakness?" Jaden said.

"That's right," Chumley replied. "After you use it, you can't summon up another monster. And that means you'll be defenseless, Dad."

"Not bad, son" Mr. Huffington said; he was still calm. "You spotted the card's weak spot. I'm very impressed with you. But still, it won't change things. You see, it doesn't matter if I'm defenseless, because I have these. Two Hot Sauce Bottles."

Two more of those hot sauce bottles appeared on the field.

"Wait, if one Sauce Bottle deals 500 points of damage, then with two on the field…" Syrus began.

"It'll be bad," Jaden said.

"I activate Flipping the Table." Mr. Huffington flipped the table and Master of Oz and the two Hot Sauce bottles were destroyed.

**Chumley: 0**

**Mr. Huffington: 700 WINNER**

"I don't believe it. Chumley lost," Syrus said.

Mt. Huffington stared at his defeated son before he turned around and left the room with Chumley glumly following.

"Chumley, wait," Jaden called before he, Syrus and Kasumi ran after their friend.

**. . .**

"I guess this is it," Syrus said.

Chumley looked like he was trying hard not to cry as he said, "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Come on, we'll walk with you," Jaden said softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and the three Slifers and one Obelisk, as Kasumi was still with them, headed toward the docks.

When they reached the docks, they were surprised to find only Banner and Pharaoh there.

"Hey, Professor, where's my dad?" Chumley asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry but he had to go, Chumley. Something went wrong with the mild sauces," Banner said before he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "But he left this for you."

Chumley took the envelope, opened it and took out the letter. It read:

_Dear son,_

_There's more to school than just your studies and, while you may not have made great grades there, you have made some great friends. That's reason enough for you to stay…_

Chumley finished reading before crumpling the paper as tears fell from his eyes. He took off running to the nearest cliff and saw his father riding away on a small boat. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, "Daddy! I won't let you down. I won't let any of you down. From here on out, I'm gonna make you proud of me. My family and my friends!"

Chumley watched as his father became little more than a thought as he heard Jaden, Syrus and Kasumi join him on the cliffs and simply watched, most of them with small smiles on their faces.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: okay, this may sound weird but, for some reason, every time I read the word 'Dizzy', my mind would say 'Ditzy' for some reason. It's weird.**

**Darth: and that has what to do with the chapter?**

**Blaze: absolutely nothing**

**Darth: then why did you mention it?**

**Blaze: I dunno**

**Jaden: okay then.**

**Crowler: hi**

**Blaze: (stabs Crowler with lightsaber and pushes him into Sarlacc pit) I don't own _Star Wars_ by the way**

**Jaden: (looks into pit before shivering) and here I thought Haou was evil**

**Haou: I am not evil! And, frankly, I'm really just a spirit and a voice in your head**

**Yubel: an annoying spirit and annoying voice in Judai's head**

**Haou: (scowls)**

**Jaden: wow, you make me sound crazy, Yubel**

**Yubel: well...**

**Jaden: HEY!**

**Blaze: (chuckles) well, to be fair, my beta-reader did mention something about this matter and, well, Yubel's unspoken thought right there is kinda right, though it's more complicated than that**

**Jaden: (pouts) you guys are mean**

**Blaze: (hands Jaden giant bowl of fried shrimp)**

**Jaden: (perks up) you're awesome, Blaze! (Runs off with giant bowl of fried shrimp)**

**Blaze: (laughs) please review and I will post chapter eight as soon as I possibly can**


	8. High Stakes Tag Duel

**Sweet! I got **_**nine**_** reviews last chapter!**

**Thank you to **_**iloveyugiohGX93, DarkZorua100, Vanishing Raptor, hornofdesolation, JxA fan 2000, decode9, bobmanv2.0, SuperNeos2 **_**and **_**Sundown**_** for reviewing the last chapter.**

**In response to **_**Sundown**_**'s review, since they were a guest reviewer, the reviewers who submitted characters to be Shadow Riders already supplied me with decks but thank you for your suggestions.**

**Also, I am so looking forward to the Shadow Rider arc. I'm going to have so much fun with those duels.**

**And I'm also considering starting 8000 point duels at some point, either at the School Duel or during the Shadow Rider arc just because they look fun but they'll be a challenge (especially with Kasumi's deck). We'll see if I decide to do that or not.**

**Here is the long-awaited Expulsion Duel! I hope that you like it and that the changes I made were good. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**8**

**High Stakes Tag Duel**

Walking through the hallways of Duel Academy's main building, Dr. Vellian Crowler examined all of the red-coated students with thinly veiled contempt. _Just look at them. Pathetic slackers littering the campus like vermin, _he thought. _The hallowed halls of my Duel Academy are for the elite, not the lame, and especially not Jaden Yuki._

"_That slacker has made a fool out of me for long enough!_" Crowler yelled out loud, causing every Slifer in the vicinity to duck into a nearby classroom. "But soon he will pay most dearly for it. Soon, with what I have planned, he will be the fool."

"Dr. Crowler!"

Crowler turned as Chazz Princeton walked over to join him. "Ah, Chazz, how may I be of service?" the blond teacher asked.

"You can put me in that tag-team duel against Jaden, that's how," Chazz said. "This time I'm sure I can beat him and send him packing."

"Sorry, Chazz, but you're sitting this duel out," Crowler said and, when Chazz gasped, he added, "Don't get me wrong. Your skills are admirable, but I'm not taking any chances. If Jaden loses, then he'll be expelled from Duel Academy, once and for all, which is why I'm having him face the greatest tag duelists in the world."

Chazz scowled but otherwise said nothing as Crowler walked off.

**. . .**

Jaden and Syrus were in their room at the Slifer Red dorm, going over their decks with Chumley watching them, wondering why they were so calm, or at least why Jaden was so calm.

"How can you guys be so calm?" the koala-boy asked.

"Why shouldn't we be calm? Another day, another duel. No problem, right, Sy?" Jaden said, looking up from his deck.

Syrus just groaned a bit.

"But this isn't just another duel," Chumley protested. "It's a tag-duel and if you lose, you'll be on the next bus out of here."

"We're not gonna lose," Jaden said. "And, Chumley, we're on an island. Bus?"

"Whatevs. Maybe you guys should give me your meal cards, just in case."

Jaden rolled his eyes at that. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said.

"Well, someone's gotta eat your grilled cheeses if you go," Chumley said.

Syrus was gazing at the Power Bond card in his hand, not paying much attention to the talk between Chumley and Jaden. _Chumley may have a point. The last time I dueled, I was awful and didn't do much to help Jaden. If we're going to win this then I'll just have to be better and not let anything get in my head, especially not Zane. I've gotta believe in myself, believe in myself, believe in myself…_

"_I believe in myself, Jaden!_" Syrus exclaimed out loud.

Jaden looked up from his cards. "That's great, Sy," he said, putting his deck away.

"Well, good luck, you guys. I really want you to win this match," Chumley said.

"More than you want grilled cheeses?'

"I would rather have you guys as friends than grilled cheese."

Jaden chuckled. "You know, I think I might just cry," he said with a smile.

"See ya soon," Syrus said.

_Yeah, I hope so, _Chumley thought.

**. . .**

"_The disciplinary duel shall begin in moments and, remember, these are test conditions. This is a sudden expulsion match,_" the voice over the intercom said.

Bastion, who was sitting with a few other Ras in the stands, frowned. "A tad harsh, I'd say," he said.

"You got that right." Bastion looked up to find Alexis, the blonde Obelisk he had met during the tests a week earlier, Kasumi, Jaden's sister, and another blonde Obelisk walking over to join him.

"We're the reason Jay's in this mess," Kasumi admitted.

"Yeah, they were helping us out in the Abandoned Dorm," Alexis said.

Kasumi decided not to say anything about how Jaden was there to find clues to help explain what happened to Raiden, as that would incriminate him even more.

"I see," Bastion said before looking at the other blonde. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Arina Zharkov, a friend of Kasumi's and Jaden's," the blonde Russian student said. "I still think this is unfair of Crowler."

"Crowler's had it in for Jaden since he beat him on his first turn back during the entrance exams. I just wish he wouldn't take it out on Syrus as well," Kasumi said.

"I'm wondering why he isn't taking it out on you, considering you beat him too," Arina said.

"Probably 'cause I'm in Obelisk." Kasumi looked at the arena. "Jaden and Syrus are gonna need all the help they can get."

"Yeah, I agree. I hear Crowler got professional duelists, a legendary tag-team who used to work for the creator of Duel Monsters himself," Alexis said.

_You better win, Jay,_ Kasumi thought, concerned.

**. . .**

"_Send in the accused: Syrus Truesdale and Jaden Yuki,_" the voice over the intercom said as Jaden and Syrus entered the arena.

Chazz, seated in an empty section of the arena, scowled and kicked the seat hard enough to where Jaden and Syrus could hear it, even though they didn't see it.

"Wow, the acoustics in here are great," Jaden mused.

"Yeah, do you think they'd count your echo as your partner?" Syrus asked.

"For the last time, you're my partner," Jaden said, ruffling the small Slifer's hair.

_'Though_ _an echo might be better,_' Haou mused.

_'No_ _one wanted your opinion, Haou, so shut up,_' Yubel snapped.

Haou scowled.

Syrus laughed nervously. "Doesn't hurt to ask though," he said.

**. . .**

Back in the empty section of the arena, Chazz was scowling and glaring at the two Slifers. "You Slifer Slackers. It should be me who takes you out but, so long as someone does it," he muttered.

**. . .**

Zane watched from above the stands, arms folded across his chest and eyes narrowed as he observed his little brother. _Well, little brother, it's time to prove whether you belong here or if you belong on the next plane out of here,_ he thought.

**. . .**

Chumley, out of breath from having run all the way from the Slifer Red dorm, leaned heavily against the railing as he watched Jaden and Syrus walk over to their side of the arena. Jaden noticed him and waved and Chumley managed a small wave back.

_Man, and here I thought running was healthy, _he thought.

**. . .**

_Zane! _Syrus thought the instant he caught sight of his older brother before he walked after Jaden, repeating _gotta believe in myself_ over and over in his mind.

"Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce our guest tag-duelists," Crowler said as two men flipped onto the stage.

The two men were bald, dressed in robes, one was orange while the other was green and they had strange tattoos on their heads. Everyone was staring with surprise in their eyes as they flipped over to Jaden and Syrus and landed on the other side of the arena.

"Who are they?" Syrus asked.

"The Paradox Brothers," Crowler announced.

"Salutations, you fools," the one in the orange robes said.

"Hope you're ready to duel," the one in the green robes said.

"Never heard of 'em," Jaden said, somewhat amused.

"Me neither, maybe this tag-duel won't be so bad," Syrus said.

Crowler, who was walking behind them, smirked. "Perhaps, they haven't dueled in ages. I believe their last opponent was Yugi something," he said.

"The King of Games?" Syrus said, surprised.

_Well, it'll sure be a sweet challenge,_ Jaden thought.

**. . .**

"I've studied these duelists. Apparently, not only are they dueling mercenaries, but they are also the best tag-team duelists in the world," Alexis said.

"That hardly seems fair," Arina said with a frown.

"I think that was Crowler's point," Bastion said. "Statistically speaking, I put Jaden's odds at winning at one in fifty."

**. . .**

Chazz laughed before looking up at Chumley, who was still leaning against the railing above him. "Hey, Chumley, looks like there's going to be a whole lot more room in your dorm, since your friends are toast."

"Not lishus," Chumley murmured.

Zane was watching, as stoic as ever, not once moving from his spot.

**. . .**

"Crowler, don't you think this is a bit much?" Sheppard asked from next to the dueling arena.

"No, not at all," Crowler said. "Jaden and Syrus broke a big-time rule so they should face a big-time opponent. Besides, we can't send the brothers back now. They've come so far."

"What's it matter? You're paying their travel costs," Sheppard said with a shrug before he looked at Jaden while Crowler fell. "Jaden, I'll leave things up to you, son."

"Ah, these men couldn't beat male-patterned baldness. There's no way they can beat us," Jaden said with a smirk.

_'You_ _need to work on your jokes, Judai,_' Yubel murmured.

_'That_ _was a joke?_' Haou echoed.

Crowler rolled his eyes. "Oh, how wonderfully clever," he said sarcastically as he walked back to stand between the two opponents. "Duelists, prepare for battle."

The four of them activated their duel disks.

"The rules of this duel are quite simple," Crowler went on. "Each team will share 8000 Life Points. There is also no sharing of strategy, no sharing of advice and no sharing of cards that aren't already in play. You can, however, share cards on your partner's field. Understood?"

"Yeah," the four duelists replied.

"All right, then, duel!" Crowler said before he leapt off the stage.

**Jaden/Syrus: 8000**

**Paradox Brothers: 8000**

As the four of them drew their opening hands, Jaden glanced at Syrus before nodding once and Syrus drew his sixth card.

"Here I come," he said. "First, I'm going to summon Ambulanceroid in Attack Mode." He placed the card on his disk and a white-and-red ambulance with cartoonish eyes on its bumper appeared (A: 300/D: 1200).

"You must be joking. I'm surprised that thing has an Attack Mode," Para said with a sneer as he drew his sixth card. "This, on the other hand…Jirai Gumo in Attack Mode."

A giant brown spider appeared in front of him (A: 2200/D: 100).

"An overgrown bug?" Jaden echoed. "Nothing my deck can't squash." He drew his sixth card before adding, "And I'll start by summoning Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode."

A warrior made entirely out of clay with a small red head appeared, kneeling on the field (A: 800/D: 2000).

"The best defense is a good offense," Dox said as he drew his sixth card. "I summon Kaiser Sea Horse in Attack Mode."

A monster in blue and purple armor with a golden spear in his hand appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 1650).

_Okay, if I know dueling like I think I know dueling, these guys are going to attack next,_ Syrus thought.

"And next, I choose to play a Spell Card from my hand," Dox said, startling Syrus. "Tribute Doll. To activate it, I must sacrifice one monster on the field. Good thing my brother is so generous with his." The brothers shared a look and Para nodded once. "Farewell, Jirai Gumo." Black vines appeared from the field before grabbing the giant brown spider and it shattered. "Now, I can summon a Level 7 monster this turn and I choose Kazejin!"

A green monster with large green arms and a golden kanji symbol for 'wind' on its body appeared on the field (A: 2400/D: 2200).

**. . .**

"He sacrificed his brother's monster to summon a better one for the team? Now that's tag dueling," Bastion commented.

"Would you mind not sounding so impressed, Bastion?" Alexis said, annoyed.

Kasumi leaned forward with a frown. "I don't like this. It's a strong monster but there's gotta be another reason why he summoned it," she said softly.

**. . .**

"Do you actually think you know anything of this game?" Para began taunting his opponents with a sneer.

"You're losers, you're jokes, in other words, you're lame," Dox said.

"And if they think this is starting to get grueling."

"Wait until I give them a true schooling," Dox finished. "I play Dark Designator. This powerful Spell allows me to call out the name of any monster I can think of and if it's in my brother's deck, it is added immediately to his hand." He paused, looking as though he was thinking before adding, "Now, let me see, Sanga of the Thunder." He pointed to Para who laughed and drew that card.

"What do you know? It's right here, ready to tear them asunder," he said.

_You've gotta be kidding me. Another Level 7 monster? _Jaden thought.

"The duel is just starting," Para began.

"Yet it is almost done," Dox continued.

Then, they pointed to Jaden and Syrus. "For your demise has already begun."

Syrus gasped.

"Don't worry, Sy. They're just saying that because it makes for an easy rhyme," Jaden assured him. _I hope so, anyway. And I hope we don't make for an easy match._ He scanned his and Syrus's field. _Okay, I have Clayman out and Syrus has his Ambulanceroid. It's not bad but it's not good considering what we're staring down._

"What do you think, Jaden?" Syrus asked. "If we quit now, we'll get some extra time to pack all our stuff."

"We're not quitting, Sy. We can still win this, I'm telling ya, we can," Jaden said.

"You know what, Jay, you're right," Syrus said before he smiled. _We are packing some serious dueling punch. _He cast a sidelong look at Zane in the stands. _Not only will I show the Paradox Brothers, but I'm going to show my brother as well. I want to remain at this Academy and that's what I'm going to do._

He adopted a serious look as he drew a card. "I play Polymerization. Check it out, I take Ambulanceroid and the Rescueroid in my hand and fuse them together to create the Ambulance Rescueroid." Ambulanceroid fused with an aqua-blue and white truck with yellow cartoonish eyes to create a long red fire truck with a white stripe and cartoonish eyes above the bumper (A: 2300/D: 1800).

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Syrus cheered before he narrowed his eyes and added, "You see, you made a mistake with all that teamwork. By sacrificing Jirai Gumo, you left your brother wide open!"

'_Idiot_,' Haou sneered.

"Uh, Sy," Jaden began uncertainly.

Syrus was too excited and didn't hear Jaden. "And I'm coming in. Ambulance Rescueroid, attack Para."

Several gasps sounded throughout the arena; Alexis, Bastion, Kasumi and Arina gasped, Chazz and Crowler laughed and Zane narrowed his eyes with a scowl.

"An attack?" Para said, surprised.

"Got that right," Syrus said as Steam Gyroid rushed toward Para.

"Brother, if you would please," Para said.

Dox nodded. "It would be my pleasure indeed, brother," he said before he gestured and added, "Kazejin, defend with Squall Barricade." The green monster jumped in front of Para and Ambulance Rescueroid was caught in a cyclone and returned to Syrus's field. "Our monster's special ability, do you like?" he asked.

"It reduces your monster's damage to zero without even a fight," Para explained.

Syrus frowned. "So I goofed?"

**. . .**

"Do these two actually think they have a chance of beating Para and Dox? They stink worse than dirty socks," Crowler said happily before he chuckled and added, "Ha, now they even have me doing it."

Sheppard frowned from the stands, but otherwise said nothing.

**. . .**

"Forget it, Sy. It's no biggie," Jaden assured his friend.

"Yeah, right," Syrus muttered.

"Hey, I'm serious. Just keep going."

"All right. I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"At least, a smart move," Para said as he drew a card. "I play Monster Reborn and bring back the frightful Jirai Gumo."

The giant brown spider reappeared on the field (A: 2200/D: 100).

"And then I play a Spell Card, Tribute Doll."

"Not again!" Syrus complained.

"Yes, again, and again I choose to sacrifice Jirai Gumo to summon a Level 7 monster; Suijin."

The spider vanished to be replaced by a blue monster with a pair of what looked like legs and a mouth, and a kanji symbol for 'water' on its forehead (A: 2500/D: 2400).

"But I'm not done yet. Mind if I borrow a monster, brother?" Para asked.

"Please, that's what he's here for," Dox said.

"I sacrifice Kaiser Sea Horse," Para began as Dox's monster was surrounded by dark fire.

"In case you didn't know, when summoning a Light-attribute monster, Kaiser Sea Horse's sacrifice counts as two instead of one, which is why I can now summon Sanga of the Thunder."

Dox's monster vanished, to be replaced by a monster that was a dull bronze and dull gold color, with the kanji symbol for 'thunder' where its head should be (A: 2600/D: 2200).

**. . .**

"Now I place those odds at 500 to 1," Bastion said before wincing when Kasumi slapped him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Thank you, Kasumi," Alexis said.

**. . .**

"Three monsters on our side, what could be better?" Para asked.

"I know, brother, when they come together?" Dox said.

"Prepare yourself! I sacrifice Suijin, Kazejin and Sanga of the Thunder so I can now summon the ultimate monster: Gate Guardian!"

All three monsters vanished, only to reappear, attached to each other; Sanga was the head and the arms, Kazejin was the torso and Suijin was the legs (A: 3750/D: 3400).

"Gate Guardian," Syrus cried.

"He's ginormous," Jaden mused.

"Wait until you see his attack. Go, attack Ambulance Rescueroid. Tidal Surge attack," Para ordered and a gust of water combined with lightning shot from Gate Guardian's torso and, swirling together in a cyclone, shot toward Ambulance Rescueroid; the fire truck shattered and Syrus was nearly sent to the ground when the attack struck him.

**Jaden/Syrus: 6550**

**Paradox Brothers: 8000**

**. . .**

"This isn't a duel. It's target practice for the Paradox Brothers and Sy's the bull's eye," Bastion said.

Kasumi sighed. "I hate to say it, but Bastion has a point," she said.

"He's just made a few bad moves, that's all," Alexis said. "I'm sure he can come back. At least, I hope he does. Jaden's good but he's not good enough to win this thing by himself."

**. . .**

"I know it hurts…" Para began.

"But it's about to get worse," Dox finished.

"If it gets as bad as this rhyming, then we're in serious trouble," Syrus mused.

**. . .**

Crowler chucked as he looked over the edge into the arena. _These two are dueling perfectly,_ he thought. _They know just what to do and are doing it. After all, in a Tag Duel, once you eliminate the weakest link, the whole chain will come crumbling down._ Crowler looked at Syrus. _And they certainly found just that. Poor little Syrus, he would be the weakest link on a plate of sausages._

**. . .**

_I hope Jaden has something special in that deck of his,_ Syrus thought. _Or this match is over and so are our lives at the Academy._

Jaden shrugged. "Well, the bigger they are, the harder they fall so let's take this thing down," he said.

Syrus just let out a doubtful groan.

"I'd like to see you try," Para said, placing a card facedown and signaling the end of his turn.

"Then it's time to go to work," Jaden said, drawing a card before he scanned the cards in his hand. "I start by calling out Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to join Clayman."

His fiery heroine in the red bodysuit appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 800).

"And then I play Dark Fusion to fuse them together to form my Evil Hero Infernal Sniper, in Defense Mode," Burstinatrix and Clayman fused together to create a giant covered mostly in red armor with a blaster on his arm (A: 2000/D: 2500).

"He only has 2500 Defense. That Gate Guardian's Attack is 3750. Sniper will be sniped," Syrus protested.

"Don't worry, Sy. Infernal Sniper's Special Ability deals our opponents 1000 points of direct damage once per turn," Jaden said.

"Our Life Points!" the brothers shouted.

"Now go, Infernal Sniper," Jaden ordered and Infernal Sniper sent out two bright blue blasts, each one struck one of the brothers.

**Jaden/Syrus: 6550**

**Paradox Brothers: 7000**

"All right, we're back in this game," Syrus cheered.

"Sy, we were never out of it," Jaden said.

_Yeah, Jaden's right. We can win this, _Syrus thought.

"It's my draw," Dox said as he drew. "I activate the Equip Spell Fairy Meteor Crush and I'm equipping it to the Gate Guardian. Now, when the Guardian attacks a monster in Defense Mode, the difference between his Attack Points and your Monster's Defense Points, are dealt to you as damage."

"Not so fast," Syrus said. "You forget; I have a facedown card." The Slifer activated it. "Go, Mystical Space Typhoon. It destroys one Spell or Trap card on the field and I'm using it on the one you just played, Fairy Meteor Crush." A tornado appeared before spinning across the field toward Gate Guardian.

"Right into my Trap," Para said, revealing his facedown. "I activate Judgment of Anubis. Foolish boy, this lets me stop your Spell simply by discarding one card. Your typhoon has just been downgraded to a cool summer breeze." The tornado dissolved into nothing. "But wait, that's not all it does. Anubis also destroys one of your creatures." Infernal Sniper shattered and the winds conjured up because of the explosion hit the two Slifers but they held their ground.

"And then its Attack points are dealt back to you, pretty cool special feature," Dox finished.

**Jaden/Syrus: 4550**

**Paradox Brothers: 7000**

"I know it seems like your back is to the wall, but in fact the wall is right in front of you. I play this, Defense Wall and, as long as it's on the field in Defense Mode, all the monsters you have got to attack him. I end my turn with that."

A gray brick wall with pipes curled in front of him appeared (A: 0/D: 2100).

**. . .**

"The Gate Guardian on offense and that wall on defense, almost flawless," Bastion mused before wincing when Kasumi smacked him upside the head again.

"We get it. Will you be quiet or am I going to have to move?" Alexis said, irritated, as Bastion rubbed the back of his head.

"Right, sorry," he said, eyeing Kasumi warily. He may see Kasumi as a somewhat friend, but her smacks did hurt.

**. . .**

"It's your move," Dox said to Syrus. "What are you waiting for?"

"To be honest, a miracle," Syrus muttered before he drew a card. "I summon Submarineroid in…uh…Attack Mode." A blue and yellow submarine with cartoonish eyes, carrying a blue and orange missile appeared (A: 800/D: 1800).

Syrus then noticed that Jaden was looking at him and he winced. _Uh, oh, Jaden's looking at me. I know it's weak but it's all I can do. At least it has its effect,_ he thought.

"You summoned a submarine?" Dox said.

"Well, it's about to get creamed," Para said.

"I'm not done yet," Syrus said. "Submarine's effect allows it to attack you directly."

Submarineroid dived into the ground and hurried across the field before releasing the missile that struck the surprised Paradox Brothers before the submarine returned to Syrus's side of the field.

**Jaden/Syrus: 4550**

**Paradox Brothers: 6200**

"And since Submarineroid attacked, it's switched to Defense Mode," Syrus added and Submarineroid took on a defensive position.

"Your little submarine is about to sink," Para said, drawing a card. "Gate Guardian, Tidal Surge attack."

The water and electricity shot forward in a cyclone and slammed into the Submarine, causing it to shatter.

"And don't forget the effect of Fairy Meteor Crush. The difference between my Guardian's Attack and your monster's Defense is taken out of your Life Points."

Syrus cried out as the blast of water and electricity slammed into him, sending him to his knees.

**Jaden/Syrus: 2600**

**Paradox Brothers: 6200**

"Your Life Points are falling," Para began.

"Your game play is appalling," Dox continued.

"There is nothing left to do except give up and start bawling," the brothers said at the same time.

Jaden hadn't moved at all and the gang in the stands frowned.

**. . .**

"What's wrong with Jaden? I hope he's not giving up," Alexis said.

"I know Jaden. He'll never give up until the last card is played," Kasumi said.

"After everything that's gone on, it wouldn't surprise me," Bastion said before wincing when Kasumi smacked him upside the head again. "Will you stop that, Kasumi?"

"Quit doubting my brother," the blue-black haired Obelisk snapped. "He'll come up with something."

"But look at the field," Bastion protested. "It's two monsters to none. It's a simple calculation to figure they'll be knackered."

"'Knackered'?" Arina echoed with a tilt of the head.

"Nice, Bastion, now you're putting them down using words I don't even understand," Alexis said before she looked at Kasumi and added, "Kasumi, calm down. Let's just keep our focus on the duel. I'm sure Jaden has a strategy."

"Oh, I'm sure he does," Bastion agreed. "It's Syrus I'm concerned about. He's walked into every Trap, Spell and attack card the Paradox Brothers have played. He's been horrible."

"On second thought, I liked it better when I couldn't understand you," Alexis said.

"So did I," Kasumi said.

Bastion decided it would probably be best if he shut up now.

**. . .**

Chumley, by the railing, was silently begging his friends to win. _Please let them win. I'll give up grilled cheeses for a week. I'll fry them instead, _he thought.

_Finally, those Slifer Slackers are getting the beat down they deserve,_ Chazz thought. _Can't wait until they lose and get expelled from the Academy, especially that loser Jaden._

"Uh, Chazz?" Raizou said, looking at him. "You all right?"

Chazz ignored him. _That slime. Thinking he can become the next King of Games. That's my destiny, especially since he's about to be expelled,_ he thought angrily.

**. . .**

"I'm a genius, a sheer genius," Crowler said, chuckling. "First, I trap Jaden in the Abandoned Dorm, then I arrange this tag-duel as punishment and then I hire the best tag duelists to ensure that he and Syrus lose and get expelled." Crowler began laughing loudly.

"So, Crowler, enjoying the boy's punishment a little too much, aren't we?"

Crowler jumped, forgetting that Sheppard was sitting right behind him.

"Oh my, no, you misinterpret," Crowler said nervously. "I'm just laughing because I'm happy the duel's nearly done and our students' suffering ends."

"They don't look weary to me," Sheppard said. "In fact, Jaden looks like he's ready to keep on going."

Crowler looked at Jaden to find that the boy had raised his head, a determined look on his face.

**. . .**

The Paradox Brothers noticed this as well.

"Well, well, the Slifer Red forges ahead," Para said.

"When a smarter Duelist would have fled instead," Dox finished.

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "I seriously wish the Academy had made us Slifer Orange, then we wouldn't have to put up with these awful rhymes," he said with a smirk; the Paradox Brother looked insulted by that comment.

Winged Kuriboh and Yubel appeared on Jaden's shoulder and next to him, respectively, and Jaden glanced at them. "Yeah, I don't think they got it, either," he said.

_'Judai, focus on the duel,_' Yubel said.

_I am, but those rhymes are really annoying,_ Jaden thought.

"Forget about our rhyming," Para said.

"Just concentrate on your card playing," Dox continued.

"For the partner you have,"

"To win, you have a long way."

Jaden raised an eyebrow while Syrus looked hurt as he glanced at his friend. Jaden caught his look before smiling at him. "Don't listen to them, Sy," he said.

"But they're right," the little Slifer protested.

"They're not and I know so because you're the one who's gonna take that thing down. So let's go." He drew a card. "And I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode."

His blue-and-gold armored warrior appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400).

"And next I'll equip him with this, Spark Blaster."

A silver gun appeared in the warrior's right hand.

"With each blast, I get to switch the battle position of one of your monsters. Gate Guardian, take a knee."

Sparkman fired his blaster and a burst of blue energy shot forward before causing the gigantic monster to kneel down and cross his arms.

**. . .**

"Well, that was certainly an odd choice," Bastion said. "Unless Jaden has something planned, he's wasted his move."

"He still has two blasts left," Kasumi said. "And there is something he can do that'll help him at this moment."

**. . .**

"You must be a fool, when Gate Guardian's on Defense, he never tires. Your situation is just as dire," Para said.

"And though I hate to feed the fire, our Defense Wall, you have yet to retire," Dox finished.

Jaden smiled. "Spark Blaster can be used three times before it's destroyed so I can use its second blast on your Defense Wall," he said and the brothers growled in fury and surprise when the blue energy blast hit the wall, causing it to stand up.

"Sparkman, attack that Defense Wall with Static Shockwave," Jaden ordered and Sparkman unleashed a series of lightning bolts that slammed into Defense Wall, causing it to shatter.

**Jaden/Syrus: 2600**

**Paradox Brothers: 4600**

"And then I'll just throw down a facedown and end my turn," Jaden said as a facedown card appeared vertically at his feet.

"My draw," Dox said, glaring at Jaden. "And I just play a facedown, no more, no less. Brother, you do the rest."

"Excellent decision, I think it's for the best. For next turn, I'm sure to win us this contest," Para said.

Syrus groaned. "Aww man, Jay, you heard them. Next turn they'll take us down. There's no point in me even drawing. I should just give up."

"Sy, listen to me," Jaden said, looking at Syrus. "One draw, that's all it takes to turn this duel around. Do you remember the last time you had one draw?"

**Flashback**

_"You'll never get out of this," Jaden said, having just backed Syrus into a corner. They were currently practicing in their dorm room._

_Syrus laughed. "Yeah, all right. I give. Let's have a rematch," he said. "First, let's see what I would've drawn." He drew a card and smiled brightly. "Whoa, this would've changed everything."_

_Jaden looked nervous. "That doesn't change the fact that you already gave up the match, right?"_

_Syrus just laughed._

**End Flashback**

"You see, Sy. There's no such thing as a last draw because, with the right card, you can always get another one," Jaden said.

"But…"

"No 'buts', Sy. If you really want to stay at this Academy then make your move, it's all up to you," Jaden said.

Syrus gulped before looking at his deck. _But that's exactly what I'm afraid of. My next draw could win us this duel or lose us everything,_ he thought before he suddenly thought about when he was practicing with Jaden.

**Flashback**

_Syrus drew a card and Jaden leaned over before smiling. "Whoa, that's actually a really sweet card. With the right combo, it could beat anything," he said. He paused before adding with a smirk, "Can I have it?"_

_"No way," Syrus said._

_Jaden pouted but Syrus could see the amusement in his eyes, which told him that he was only kidding. "Please?" he asked._

_"No."_

_"Well, it doesn't hurt to try."_

**End Flashback**

_That one card is our only chance but if I don't draw it then this duel's over,_ Syrus thought before narrowing his eyes in determination. _I can do this. Our entire future here at this Academy depends entirely on this draw._ He drew his card before grinning when he saw what it was.

"Jaden!" he exclaimed.

"You drew it?" Jaden asked before he smiled. "Well then let 'em have it."

Syrus smiled before holding out a card. "Your Gate Guardian is finished," he declared.

"You must be joking," Para said.

"Nothing in your hand can send Gate Guardian packing," Dox said.

"Oh yeah. First, I summon Drillroid in Attack Mode." His cartoonish drill appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1600). "And then I activate the Spell Shield Crush," Syrus declared as a card depicting a shield being shattered by a beam of green light appeared on the field. "And, just like the name says, it destroys any monster that tries to hide in Defense Mode, like Gate Guardian."

A beam of bright green shot from the card to slam into Gate Guardian and caused it to shatter.

"Gate Guardian is cooked," Para gasped.

"I can hardly look," Dox said.

"Now, Drillroid, attack them directly," Syrus ordered and the Paradox Brothers winced when Drillroid hit them.

**Jaden/Syrus: 2600**

**Paradox Brothers: 3000**

"Nice going, Sy," Jaden said.

_'Eh, it was an okay move,_' Haou said.

Yubel rolled her eyes while Jaden just ignored Haou.

**. . .**

Cheers erupted from the audience and Chumley couldn't help but clap along with everyone. "Fried cheese, here I come," he said.

Zane narrowed his eyes but otherwise remained still.

**. . .**

"This is supposed to be a punishment but this crowd is treating them like heroes!" Crowler exclaimed when the cheering started. He glanced over his shoulder. "Chancellor Sheppard, tell me you're watching this."

"I am watching," Sheppard said with a faint smile. "This duel is promoting teamwork and fortitude, so good work, Dr. Crowler."

**. . .**

Bastion looked shocked. "Did you see that? Did you? Tell me you saw that," he exclaimed.

"Bastion, we're sitting right next to you. Of course we saw that," Kasumi said, rolling her eyes.

"But you know what surprises me more than them taking down that Gate Guardian? The teamwork they used to do so. That is what it's going to take for them to win this," Alexis said.

"Yes. Let's hope they can keep it up," Bastion said.

**. . .**

"Okay, I'll place one card face down and end my turn," Syrus said and a facedown card appeared in front of him. "Thanks for the pep talk, Jay."

"You're welcome and thank you for the sweet move," Jaden said.

'I think the Paradox Brothers have another trick up their sleeve,' Yubel said.

"Mind if we join on the praise, you two?" Para began.

"Because, by destroying our Gate Guardian, we should really thank you," Dox finished as the brothers smiled.

Syrus's eyes widened.

"You know, they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Para said, drawing a card. "And it's true, after all, we're not beaten yet and we're about to become more powerful than ever. I play the Spell, Dark Element. This Spell can only be played when Gate Guardian is in the Graveyard. We play half our Life Points and then summon a monster that can't be destroyed in battle."

**Jaden/Syrus: 2600**

**Paradox Brothers: 1500**

"We summon Dark Guardian," the brothers declared at the same time.

A muscular warrior sitting on a metal spider with a silver axe in one hand and a black shield in the other appeared on the field (A: 3800/D: 3800).

**. . .**

"Invincible in battle and has those Attack Points?" Bastion gasped.

_Jaden,_ Kasumi thought, hoping her adopted brother had something up his sleeve.

Zane grunted, eyes not once leaving the duel.

**. . .**

"Now, Dark Guardian, attack Drillroid. Axe Slash Bash," Para ordered and Dark Guardian started forward, preparing to strike down Drillroid.

**. . .**

"If this attack connects then they're will be almost out of Life Points," Bastion said.

Alexis looked worried. "Jaden," she whispered.

"Jaden! Syrus!" Kasumi gasped.

Chazz and Crowler chuckled.

**. . .**

"Not so fast, I activate my Trap, Hero Barrier," Jaden said, revealing his facedown. "This card negates your attack so long as I have an Elemental Hero on the field and Sparkman is still here."

A blue shield appeared around Drillroid, catching Dark Guardian's attack and forcing Dark Guardian back to the Paradox Brothers' side of the field.

"An impressive Trap Card," Para said.

"I never thought they would be so hard," Dox said.

"I know, we bombard and bombard. Oh well, at least our precious Dark Guardian…"

"…has kept up his guard."

"Quite right, brother, he will not be blasted to shards."

"He'll finish them off next turn…"

"And this duel will be ours!" They said the last part together.

Syrus fell to his knees. _Aww man, just when I step up my game, they step up theirs,_ he thought.

Crowler laughed. "This is the moment I've been waiting for. The moment where they lose and get expelled," he said.

"Come on, Syrus. Stand up. This duel isn't over yet," Jaden said.

"But…"

"But nothing. Stand up, pal."

_Besides, I want you to have a good view for what I'm about to pull next,_ Jaden thought.

Syrus, listening to Jaden, pushed himself to his feet.

"So, it looks like the boy wishes to proceed," Para said.

"I would've thought for mercy he would plead," Dox said.

"No, he would need smarts to want to concede," Para said.

Jaden glowered at him. "It's my turn," he said, drawing a card. "I activate the Spell, Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards from my deck. Then I play the Spell, Fusion Gate, which allows me to summon any Fusion monster I want. So I'm gonna fuse Elemental Heroes Avian, Bubbleman and Sparkman in order to create the Elemental Hero Tempest."

Avian, Bubbleman and Sparkman fused together before vanishing as Elemental Hero Tempest took their place; he was a muscular warrior with spiky green hair, a blaster on one arm, two silver claws on the other, dark blue and gold armor, pale-blue shoulder plates, large green and white wings and a blue visor over his eyes (A: 2800/D: 2800).

**. . .**

"Fine creature, but it's still too weak to defeat their Guardian," Bastion said.

Kasumi smacked Bastion upside the head. "Seriously, who's side are you on?" she demanded.

_I just hope you know what you're doing, Jaden,_ Alexis thought.

**. . .**

"An impressive move but it's useless, boy," Para said.

"Have you forgotten about Dark Guardian? He is still deployed. And since in battle he can't be destroyed…" Dox continued.

"Their beast is null and void."

"Void this. I activate the Field Spell Skyscraper," Jaden said and the dueling arena changed until it was filled with towering buildings. "Ever heard of not playing in a construction zone? Well, it's true because when my Hero battles a monster stronger than he is, his Attack rises by 1000."

Tempest was surrounded by a purplish-pink aura (A: 2800-3800).

"What the…?"

"Now, Hero Tempest, attack Dark Guardian with Power House Plummeting," Jaden ordered and Tempest shot forward before slam the arm with the gun right into Dark Guardian, conjuring up a powerful gust of wind that forced Para to block his face.

"Didn't I warn you? In battle, he cannot be beat. Your Tempest has been wasted so just accept…"

"Your defeat," Dox finished.

"Sy, can you spare a card?" Jaden asked.

"Sure," Syrus said and his facedown vanished.

The Paradox Brothers frowned.

"I activate Tempest's Special Ability. So long as I get rid of one card on the field, he isn't destroyed," Jaden said as the wind stopped and the field cleared, leaving Tempest and Dark Guardian on the field.

**. . .**

"Nice work wasting your turn, Slacker," Chazz said snidely.

**. . .**

"I don't get it. Was he hoping for a tie?' Alexis wondered aloud.

"There are times, like this one, when I really don't know what's going on in Jaden's mind," Kasumi said.

**. . .**

Zane's lips quirked into a small smile and he murmured, "Clever, so long as Syrus knows what to do next."

**. . .**

Syrus looked toward Jaden. "Jaden…" he began.

"It's okay, Sy. Just trust me. We can win this if you play the right card come your turn," Jaden said.

"That's supposing he has a next turn," Dox said as he drew a card. "And I play the Trap One on One Fight. Though I'm sure you'd rather run and hide, this forces both our strongest monsters to do battle. So I hope your Elemental Hero Tempest is up for a rematch."

Dark Guardian and Tempest went at each other for another attack.

"But why? It'll be a tie again," Syrus protested. "What's the point of attacking?"

"I have my reasons," Dox said.

Syrus frowned, confused.

**. . .**

"Sneaky ones too," Alexis said. "In order for Tempest to keep tying Dark Guardian, Jaden has to keep giving up cards."

"And whatever edge they give him," Bastion agreed.

**. . .**

Jaden's jaw clenched. "I really have no choice but to get rid of Skyscraper," he said, removing the card from his field and the towering buildings vanished (Tempest A: 3800-2800).

"So you saved your monster," Dox said as shockwaves from the battle slammed into the Duelists, sending them skidding backwards.

**Jaden/Syrus: 1600**

**Paradox Brothers: 1500**

"That's all for me," Dox said.

"But I give you my guarantee," Para said.

"Next turn, the duel will be ours."

"Just wait and see."

"All right, Sy, just remember what I said," Jaden said, glancing at his partner.

_He's right. This will all work out if I play the right card,_ Syrus thought before he gasped in realization.

"Got it, Sy?"

"I think." _This goes back to what my brother said about knowing how to use a card and how to play it,_ Syrus thought. _But do I know the difference?_

Suddenly, it was as if he was in a completely different place, surrounded by white and standing near his brother.

Syrus looked up at Zane. "Hey Zane, what's the difference between knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it? Aren't they the same?" he asked.

"That is something that can never be taught, only learned," Zane replied, glancing at Syrus over his shoulder. "It takes a moment of pure clarity when you're dueling on a new level, a higher level, all the angles, all the moves. You won't think, just act."

_All right, don't think, just act,_ Syrus thought. _No more thinking, time for action._ "All right, let's do this. My draw," he drew a card before starting when he saw what it was: Power Bond. "Yes! First, I sacrifice Drillroid in order to summon UFOroid in Attack Mode."

Drillroid vanished as Syrus placed the card in his Graveyard slot and a small saucer with a cartoonish face appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1200).

"And also, I activate the Spell Card, Power Bond," Syrus said, holding out the card while Jaden nodded in approval.

"It's a fusion card and I have just the monsters to fuse. Jaden, do you mind?"

"What's mine is yours, Sy," Jaden said.

"Then I fuse UFOroid and Tempest to create UFOroid Fighter," Syrus declared as Tempest and UFOroid blurred together and vanished to be replaced by a hovering platform in the shape of UFOroid with Tempest riding it. "And it gets better, its Attack is the sum total of each individual monster's Attack Points." (A: 4000/D: 4000).

"It matters not so stop your ceaseless prattle," Para said.

"You know Dark Guardian cannot be destroyed in battle," Dox said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter because Power Bond has a Special Effect that doubles my UFOroid Fighter's Attack Points," Syrus said as UFOroid Fighter's Attack doubled (A: 4000-8000).

Para and Dox gasped in surprise. "8000?!" they exclaimed as one.

"Sure, Dark Guardian will survive your attack but your Life Points are a different story. Now let's go, Roid Fighter, attack with Cosmic Flux Blast."

UFOroid Fighter pointed his gun at Dark Guardian before unleashing a blast of blue energy that slammed into Dark Guardian and then through it to strike at the Paradox Brothers.

**Jaden/Syrus: 1600 WINNERS**

**Paradox Brothers: 0**

The Paradox Brothers collapsed soon after the blast hit them.

**. . .**

"Well, well, I must say I'm getting more impressed every day," Bastion said.

"I'm just glad Jaden gets to stay at the Academy," Alexis said with a smile.

Kasumi smirked. "You mean Jaden and Syrus, right?"

"Oh, uh, yes of course…uh, I just said Jaden because…moving on! Let's go congratulate them," Alexis said quickly.

Kasumi laughed as she followed Alexis and Bastion to the platform with an amused Arina just behind her. _Someone's got a crush,_ she thought. _Wonder when Jaden'll notice._

**. . .**

Chazz scowled in fury as he stood up. "I'm outta here," he said before he stalked off.

"Why?" Taiyou asked.

"Wait, we're coming," Raizou said before they quickly got to their feet and followed Chazz.

**. . .**

"This cannot be. How did they win? This is unfair," Crowler cried, falling back in his shock.

"How?" Banner asked, coming to Crowler's side. "Because of your superb teaching, of course. Oh wait, they're in my dorm."

Pharaoh chose that moment to lick Crowler on the face.

"That furball just licked me!" Crowler exclaimed. "Does he have rabies? Where are his papers? Call the pound!"

**. . .**

Syrus was trying his hardest to hold back his tears while Jaden just smiled at him. "Ah, just let it out, Sy," he said. "We won!"

Syrus quickly wiped his tears away. "We did, huh? We really won!"

"Congratulations, Jaden!" Kasumi said as she, Alexis, Arina and Bastion joined them on the dueling platform before she hugged her adopted brother.

Jaden chuckled before hugging Kasumi back.

"Very good duel and congratulations as well," Arina said.

"Yes, you all did great and proved that you have the skill and, more importantly, the desire to remain here so congratulations," Sheppard said.

Jaden nodded before he looked back at the Paradox Brothers who were starting to get to their feet before giving them his signature two finger salute. "That was a great match and it was an honor. If you ever want a rematch, just holler," he said.

_'Great, I hope this rhyming phase ends quickly,_' Haou muttered.

"That's great, Jaden, and it'll be even better written," Sheppard said.

Jaden froze. "What?'

"Yes, I would like five pages about what you learned from dueling the brothers," Sheppard said with a smile. "And how it helped you realize that trespassing in the Abandoned Dorm was wrong."

"Aww, what a bummer," Jaden groaned.

"Okay, how about ten pages and single spaced too," Sheppard said before he walked off.

"You should've kept your mouth shut, Jay," Kasumi mused.

"I'll make sure they get it done, Chancellor," Banner said.

Jaden groaned again. "Ten pages?! And single spaced too?! I really gotta learn when to keep my mouth shut," he protested.

Syrus looked over at his brother. _I really want to believe that I impressed you, that I dueled at that higher level, that I showed you I can play a card, not just use it,_ he thought, looking at Power Bond before returning his gaze to his brother. _But I know I still have a lot to learn and a lot to live up to._

Zane gave Syrus a little smile before he turned and walked off.

"Argh, these ten pages are gonna take forever to complete," Jaden muttered as he walked off and Syrus, with a small, chuckle, followed him along with Bastion, Alexis, Arina, and Kasumi.

"Aw, who cares? At least you're here to stay," Chumley said, joining the gang while everyone cheered for the match.

Jaden smiled before giving the crowd his two-finger salute and said, "That's game!"

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was that**

**Darth: I liked the change**

**Paradox Brothers: we didn't!**

**Blaze: (shove Paradox Brothers into shark pit and sets it on fire; somehow, fire does not harm sharks)**

**Jaden: how in the world is that possible?**

**Blaze: (shrugs and sets Crowler on fire)**

**Crowler: HELP! I'M ON FIRE!**

**Jaden: that's the fifth time this week (sigh) Ocean?**

**E-Hero Ocean: fine (douses Crowler with water)**

**Blaze: (pouts and pulls out flamethrower)**

**Kagemaru: hi**

**Blaze: (sets Kagemaru on fire)**

**Jaden: will you please stop setting every bad guy you see on fire?**

**Blaze: at least I'm not setting the forest on fire (accidentally sets forest on fire) oops**

**Jaden: (sighs again) Ocean?**

**E-Hero Ocean: both?**

**Jaden: both**

**E-Hero Ocean: (douses Kagemaru and forest with water)**

**Blaze: please review and I will post chapter 9 as soon as I possibly can**


	9. Fairies and Formulas

**Sweet. This is the first duel I've done where my beta-reader only pointed out **_**one**_** mistake and that wasn't even in the duel, it was just something one of the characters thought. I'm getting better at writing duels; **_**EndlessNight025**_** was right, outlines really help.**

**Anyway, thank you to **_**Suika Approves, SuperNeos2, decode9, DarkZorua100, bobmanv2.0, iloveyugiohGX93, Vanishing Raptor **_**and**_** JxA fan 2000**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**Also, I am planning on posting a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX/Harry Potter crossover as soon as I complete more chapters in it (I already have the prologue and chapter 1 done) and it's going to be titled **_**Battle Born.**_** While I probably shouldn't self-promote in any of my stories, I'm just gonna do it this once.**

**Here is chapter 9 and I hope that you enjoy. Reviews are much appreciated and chapter 10 will be posted either Sunday or Monday.**

**9**

**Fairies and Formulas**

Jaden examined the baseball field. He was currently in his Gym class and two of the school dorms were playing against each other; currently, the Slifers were up to bat while the Ras were in the outfield. Everyone was wearing their white-and-blue gym clothes, but the Slifers had a red bandana around their arms while the Ras were wearing yellow ones. It was the top of the ninth, Jaden's own dorm was leading 3-0, there were two outs, the second and third bases were loaded and Jaden was up to bat.

"Jaden, keep your eye on the ball," Syrus coached.

Jaden smirked. "That'll be hard to do. After I hit it out of the park, we'll have a six-run lead," he said.

"Hold on, time out!" a voice called out and Jaden watched as Bastion Misawa ran into the field. "I was deep into some Attack Point quantum mechanics and lost track of time."

"Can you throw?" one of the Ra players asked.

"Sure."

"Well, we could use a fresh arm. All right, pitcher change."

The current pitcher, who did look tired, left the field and Bastion walked up to the mound.

"This isn't a written exam, Bastion. I hope you know what you're getting into," Jaden said.

Bastion simply smiled before he got ready to throw. "Get ready. This is coming in hot!" He didn't wait for a signal as he launched a fast ball that sailed straight over the plate; Jaden swung and completely missed it.

"Strike one!"

The next two throws were pretty much a repeat of the first.

"Strike three, you're out!'

"Damn!" Jaden muttered as the Slifers switched positions with the Ras; Syrus took over as catcher while Jaden took the pitcher's mound.

At the bottom of the ninth, Jaden struck out the first two batters but got sloppy for some reason, which lead to the next three batters walking, something that Jaden did intentionally.

"Ball four, take your base." The third batter walked to his base.

"Time," Syrus called before the group of Slifers met at the mound. "Jaden, what happened? You got two outs and walked the last three batters."

Jaden smirked. "It was the only way to pitch Bastion," he said.

"What? You walked all those guys to get even with Bastion?" Syrus asked.

"Not entirely. I also wanted to get ahead," Jaden said before he looked at Bastion as he took his place. "You hear that, buddy? You're going down."

Bastion put on the batting helmet and smiled as the rest of the Slifers returned to their previous positions. "Down the base line, perhaps," he said. "Now give me your best, Jaden. That is, if you can even get the ball over the plate."

"You want it? You got it!" Jaden pitched a fast curveball, hoping Bastion would miss, but Bastion swung the bat and it struck, sending the ball flying.

**. . .**

Meanwhile, Crowler was walking by the field, trying to think of his next move to get Jaden kicked out.

"The Paradox Brothers couldn't beat Jaden. Chazz couldn't beat Jaden. I need someone who can beat...ah!" His ranting was interrupted when a ball struck him in his left eye, sending him flying into the baseball equipment.

"Heads up!" a belated shout sounded and Crowler popped up out of the pile of equipment to glare at Jaden and Syrus, the latter of whom freaked upon seeing who was hit, as they jogged over to join him.

"It's you! Who else would cause such intense pain?!" Crowler shouted.

"That's keeping your eye on the ball," Syrus said; Crowler currently had the baseball, somehow, lodged in his eye.

"Sorry," Jaden said, "it was…"

"My fault," Bastion called as he jogged over to join them. "I was the one who hit the ball."

"Of course," Crowler said, his mood changing rapidly when he heard who spoke. "Here I was looking for a new accomplice and here it hits me right in the face! Well, the eye but that's beside the point."

"Dr. Crowler, accept my apologies," Bastion said, bowing in respect.

"No, no, no, I've been meaning to have my contacts refitted for ages and now I have the perfect excuse," Crowler said, attempting to be nice. And a new protégé to back me up, he thought.

"Huh?"

Crowler jumped before glaring at the two Slifers he had forgotten were still there. "Do you two mind?!" he demanded.

Jaden raised an eyebrow but nevertheless shrugged. "Sorry. See ya later, Bastion," he said before he and Syrus ran off.

Crowler looked back at Bastion. "You really shouldn't be associating yourselves with those slackers," he said. "I think it's time you associate yourself with someone more on your level, like me."

**. . .**

Later that day, Chazz entered the lecture hall before walking over to his seat and sitting down at the top of the lecture hall, where he usually sat. "It's good to be at the top. Yo, foot rub and an ice tea, pronto," he commanded with a snap of his fingers.

"Get it yourself," one of the Obelisks snapped.

"What did you call me?" Chazz demanded, though the Obelisk hadn't called him anything. "Go on, say it again. I don't think I heard you."

"Chazz, what are you doing here?" another Obelisk asked, walking up to him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Chazz demanded, not expecting an answer. "I'm sitting in my seat."

"That's not your seat anymore."

"You idiot. This seat is mine. I even have a name tag right…" When Chazz looked again, the name tag he had put there himself was gone. "What the…?"

"I think you'll find your name tag down there," the Obelisk said, pointing towards the bottom where the Ras were seated.

"No way. This has to be some mistake. The next King of Games shouldn't sit with third-rate no-names!"

Dr. Crowler, sporting a bruise from where he was hit with the baseball, walked into the classroom at that moment.

"Dr. Crowler, what's the meaning of this? I don't deserve to sit with the losers," Chazz exclaimed.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Chazz," Crowler said. "After all, it was a loser that beat you. What was his name? Oh yeah, Jaden Yuki, a Slifer! That's why tomorrow you're going to duel Bastion Misawa and if you lose to him as well, you two will switch dorms."

Chazz gasped. "You mean, I'd become a Ra reject?!"

"I guess you're not half as dumb as you pretend to be, Chazz," Crowler said, applauding mockingly.

Chazz growled, embarrassment coloring his face while the rest of the class laughed. "_I won't be a Ra!_" Chazz shouted as he fled from the lecture hall.

**. . .**

Kasumi relaxed next to a tree, gazing up at the sky and watching the clouds drift by. She currently had a free-period, since she wasn't in the same class as Chazz and decided to spend it cloud-gazing like she used to do with Jaden and Raiden back home. She closed her eyes at the memories and a small smile cross her lips. Cloud-gazing was boring, yeah, but it was a pastime that Kasumi shared with both of her adopted brothers and she missed it, she missed Raiden.

Sure, she still had Jaden but it was Raiden who had been the one to help Kasumi to adapt to her new family and had been the one to help Jaden to explain to her about when his powers awakened two years after Kasumi had been adopted, though Jaden always avoided telling her what really caused his powers to awaken; he had glossed over that point when he told Kasumi the story. Raiden was also the one who often comforted Kasumi whenever she woke up screaming as the nightmares of what happened when her power got out of control had her waking up in the middle of the night for those first few years.

"Hey, Kasumi, what's down?"

Kasumi looked up in amusement to find Arina standing on her hands nearby. "Don't you mean, what's up?" she asked.

Arina flushed as she flipped to her feet. "Uh, yeah, I did. So?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Nothing much, just thinking," Kasumi said with a sigh before she returned her gaze to the sky.

"About what?"

"My brother."

"Jaden?"

Kasumi shook her head as she sat up and crossed her legs while Arina sat down beside her. "No, my other brother Raiden. He's a year older than Jaden and me but he disappeared from Duel Academy sometime last year and I miss him," she said.

"You were close with him, weren't you?"

Kasumi nodded. "Not as close as Jaden was, but yeah. He was the one who helped me adapt to my new family after I was adopted."

"Jaden didn't? From what I've seen, you two seem really close now," Arina said.

"We are," Kasumi said. "Nothing like tragedy to bring people close together. We got close after Jaden learned about Raiden's disappearance. Before that, he was nice to me and treated me like a sister but he was always so…withdrawn, I guess you can say. He isolated himself away from everyone, except Raiden and that's only 'cause Raiden refused to let him isolate himself from him."

"But why? Or is it personal?"

"It's personal. Even I don't understand it. I get the feeling Jaden doesn't either, at least not completely." Kasumi shrugged before looking over at Arina before smiling a little. "I'm pretty sure you didn't come over here to hear me talk about my problems, huh?"

"Not exactly," Arina admitted. "I don't think I'd make a good therapist anyway. Actually, I came wondering if you wouldn't mind a duel."

Kasumi shrugged. "Why not? It'll give me something to do." _And get my mind off Raiden,_ she thought. She got to her feet before picking up the duel disk she always carried around with her before she strapped it on and inserted her deck.

Arina also inserted her deck in her disk as she activated it. "Good luck, Kasumi, because I'm not going easy on you," she said cheerfully.

"I'd be disappointed if you did," Kasumi said with a smile.

"Duel!" they declared as they drew their opening hand.

**Arina: 4000**

**Kasumi: 4000**

"I'll start," Arina said as she drew her sixth card before she glanced at it. "And I summon Fairy Archer to my field in Attack Mode."

The familiar small fairy with the large orange wings, who was carrying a bow and arrow in her hands, appeared on the field (A: 1600/600).

"Next, I activate her effect to deal you 400 damage for every LIGHT-attribute monster on the field, including herself," Arina added and the fairy pointed her bow at Kasumi before firing her arrow at Kasumi.

**Arina: 4000**

**Kasumi: 3600**

"Then, I'll set this card and end my turn," Arina added and a vertical card appeared at her feet.

"My move then," Kasumi said, drawing her sixth card. She glanced at her hand, pressing her lips together before nodding to herself. "All right, I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress to my field in Attack Mode."

She placed the card down and a slender woman with long black hair, dressed in white with a gold-trimmed white cape around her neck appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 200).

"Lyla, attack Fairy Archer," Kasumi ordered and Arina shielded her face as Lyla's staff shot a beam of light into her small fairy and caused her to shatter.

**Arina: 3700**

**Kasumi: 3600**

"Then I'll place this card facedown and end my turn, which means milling three cards because of Lyla's effect," Kasumi said, placing a card into a card slot before sending three cards from her deck to the Graveyard.

Arina drew a card. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands to my field in Defense Mode," she said and a green monstrous fairy with ten thousand hands all around his body, hence the name, appeared on the field, holding a defensive position (A: 1400/D: 1000).

"And since I successfully Normal Summoned him, I can add the Ritual Spell Dawn of the Herald from my deck to my hand," the Russian student added before she searched her deck for the card and added it to her hand. "I end my turn with that."

_Wonder what she's planning,_ Kasumi thought as she drew a card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown," she said and a mini-tornado spun across the field before crashing into Arina's facedown and shattering it. "Next, I Set this monster and I'll have Lyla attack Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands."

Lyla raised her staff and another beam of light shot forward before slamming into Arina's green monster, causing it to shatter though Arina didn't seem particularly upset. In fact, she looked just as happy as she always was.

"I end my turn, which means milling three cards," Kasumi said before milling those cards.

Arina drew a card before grinning. "Yes!" she said happily.

_Uh oh,_ Kasumi thought.

"I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn to bring back Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in Defense Mode," Arian began and her green monster reappeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 1000). "But he won't be here for long. Next, I activate the Ritual Spell Dawn of the Herald! And I tribute Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands on my field and Happy Lover in my hand in order to Ritual Summon Herald of Perfection to my field in Attack Mode."

Her green monster and a winged smiley face appeared momentarily only to vanish to be replaced by a gigantic blue monster with a round head and no face (A: 1800/D: 2800).

"Next, I activate Dawn of the Herald's other effect. I can remove it from my Graveyard from play in order to return one of the tributes used to summon Herald of Perfection back to my hand." Arina pocketed the Ritual Spell before returning Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands to her hand. "Now, Herald of Perfection, attack Lyla!"

"I activate my Trap, Lightsworn Barrier!" Kasumi declared, revealing her Trap Card.

"And I activate Herald of Perfection's effect. By discarding one Fairy-type monster in my hand, I can negate the activation of your Trap and destroy it," Arina said, discarding Shining Angel in her hand and Kasumi's Trap shattered.

Lyla cried out as a blast of blue light from the herald slammed into her and she shattered.

**Arina: 3700**

**Kasumi: 3500**

"Nice effect," Kasumi said as Arina signaled the end of her turn. The Lightsworn duelist drew a card before touching a button on her duel disk. "I Flip-summon Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter," she said and her furry white beast appeared on the field (A: 200/D: 100). "And that activates his effect."

"Sorry but I activate Herald of Perfection's effect again. I discard the Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in my hand to negate your monster's effect and destroy it," Arina said, discarding one of her two remaining cards and Ryko shattered.

Kasumi scowled. "Fine, I place this facedown and end my turn," she said.

Arina drew a card. "Herald of Perfection, attack Kasumi directly," she said.

"I activate Negate Attack to stop your attack and end your Battle Phase," Kasumi declared and Herald of Perfection's attack was stopped.

"Good counter," Arina said. _I'll use this to stop a more important move,_ she thought, looking at her hand. "I place this facedown and end my turn."

_Okay, I need something to take out that Herald of Perfection,_ Kasumi thought, drawing a card before looking at it. _Okay, Celestia's strong enough to take out Herald of Perfection and there's a chance that her last card isn't a Fairy so I'll just risk it._ "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Ryko in Defense Mode but he won't be here for long. I sacrifice him in order to summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel."

"And I activate my facedown, Solemn Judgment. By giving up half my Life Points, I can negate the summoning of your monster and destroy it," Arina said, revealing her Trap and Celestia shattered.

**Arina: 1850**

**Kasumi: 3500**

Kasumi pressed her lips together as she played one card facedown. "I end with that," she said.

Arina drew a card. "I summon Freya, Spirit of Victory to my field in Defense Mode," she said and her pale-purple haired fairy with the red pom-poms appeared, kneeling on the field (A: 100-500/D: 100-500) (Herald A: 1800-2200/D: 2800/3200).

"And now, Herald, attack Kasumi directly," the Fairy Duelist ordered and Herald of Perfection went in for the attack.

"I activated my Trap, Call of the Haunted, to Special Summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel to my field," Kasumi said and the beautiful blue-haired angel that would have been summoned during her turn reappeared on the field (A: 2300/D: 200).

"A nice comeback," Arina said as she called off her attack. "I end my turn."

Kasumi drew a card before glancing at it. _If I use this then Arina might be able to counter it. But Celestia is strong enough to take out Herald of Perfection by herself…I think I'll do this._ "I play the Equip Spell Lightsworn Sabre and equip it to Celestia, which will increase her Attack by 700," she began.

"And I activate Herald's effect again, discarding a Fairy in my hand to negate your Spell's activation and destroy it," Arina said and the sabre shattered.

_Okay so apparently she did have a Fairy in her hand. Why didn't she use it to negate Celestia's summoning?_ Kasumi wondered silently.

"Well, Celestia can still attack. Attack Herald of Perfection, Celestial Strike," Kasumi ordered and her angel raised her staff before striking at Herald of Perfection, causing the large blue monster to shatter.

**Arina: 1750**

**Kasumi: 3500**

Arina lowered her duel disk as she lost her ace. "My draw," she said, drawing a card. "And I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." She drew again before looking at the cards she just drew and adding, "And I sacrifice Freya in order to summon Tethys, Goddess of Light to my field in Attack Mode."

Freya vanished to be replaced by a beautiful female dressed in a floor-length white dress with long white wings connected to her shoulders by blue orbs, a silver and gold breastplate with two red gems, one on her midsection and one beneath it, white handless gloves with gold trimming that went to halfway up her bicep and silver hair (A: 2400/D: 1800).

"Next, I activate the Spell Burden of the Mighty, which decreases your monster's attack by 100 times her level," Arina added as a pale-orange aura surrounded Celestia as she powered down (A: 2300-1800). "Now, Tethys, attack Celestia."

A blast of light shot from Tethys's hand and struck the Lightsworn angel and she shattered.

**Arina: 1750**

**Kasumi: 2900**

"I end my turn," Arina said.

Kasumi lowered the duel disk she had used to shield herself from Celestia's destruction. "My turn, I draw," she said, drawing a card before she glanced at it and then looked at the lone card in her hand. "I activate the Spell, Solar Recharge. I discard Ehren, Lightsworn Monk in order to draw two cards from my deck but then I have to send the top two cards from my deck to my Graveyard." She did that.

"Finally, I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin to my field in Defense Mode," the blue-black haired Obelisk added and the silver haired Lightsworn warrior appeared, kneeling on the field (A: 1800-1400/D: 1200).

"I end my turn, which means I have to mill two cards because of Jain's effect," Kasumi finished before milling the top two cards of her deck.

_At least I have some defense,_ she thought.

"All right, it's my turn," Arina said before she drew a card and glanced at it. "Okay, I summon Dunames Dark Witch to my field in Attack Mode."

The purple haired and purple eyed fairy from Arina's first duel with Kasumi appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1050).

"Now, Dunames, attack Jain," Arina ordered and the purple haired fairy attacked Jain, causing the warrior to shatter.

"Tethys, attack Kasumi directly," the Russian student added and Tethys shot a blast of light at Kasumi causing her to stagger back.

**Arina: 1750**

**Kasumi: 500**

"I end my turn now," Arina said.

Kasumi drew a card before glancing at it and her eyes widened when she saw she had just drawn the ace she _finally_ remembered to add back to her deck. _Well, since I don't have any other monsters to summon and Arina can take me out next turn unless I get some defense, I may as well. I won't be able to use his special ability though because I don't have enough Life Points but maybe I'll be able to last another turn,_ she thought. "Okay, since I have more than four Lightsworn monster with different names in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon my ace, my Judgment Dragon to my field in Attack Mode," Kasumi said out loud.

A beautiful pale-blue dragon with long curved red claws appeared on the field with a roar (A: 3000-2200/D: 2600).

"Judgment Dragon, attack Dunames Dark Witch, Justice Blast," Kasumi ordered and Judgment Dragon roared before unleashing a blast of energy that slammed into the ghostly winged woman and she, with a cry, shattered.

**Arina: 1350**

**Kasumi: 500**

"I end my turn now, which means I have to send four cards to my graveyard from my deck because of Judgment Dragon's effect," Kasumi added before milling those cards.

"A good move but this duel's over," Arina said as she drew a card and looked at it. "I summon Honest to my field in Attack Mode."

A winged man with long curly orange-red hair appeared on the field (A: 1100/D: 1900).

_Dang, I was hoping she wouldn't draw a monster,_ Kasumi thought.

"Tethys, attack Judgment Dragon," Arina ordered and a blast of light shot from Tethys to hit Kasumi's dragon and caused him to shatter.

**Arina: 1350**

**Kasumi: 200**

"Honest, attack Kasumi directly and end the duel," Arina ordered and Honest flew into the air before unleashing a series of sharp feathers at Kasumi and they struck her and her duel disk, knocking out the rest of her Life Points.

**Arina: 1350 WINNER**

**Kasumi: 0**

Kasumi lowered her duel disk before deactivating it with a sigh. _Well, I can't say I'm happy that I lost, _she thought.

"You're still a good player, Kasumi," Arina said as she deactivated her own disk.

"Thanks. And, well, you win some, you lose some, right?"

"Right."

"Well, I think I'm gonna go find my brother. Do you wanna come with?"

"Actually, I'm going back to the Obelisk dorm. I'm getting hungry."

"Okay."

**. . .**

While Kasumi and Arina were dueling, Bastion, Jaden and Syrus were heading toward the Ra dorm; they currently had a free period and were walking and talking with Bastion about the baseball game they had just finished a while earlier.

"Okay, so I guess that last one wasn't a foul ball," Jaden said.

"Jaden, over the center field fence normally isn't," Sirius said.

"I play like I duel," Bastion admitted before he held out the baseball bat and Jaden and Syrus noticed there were many formulas written on it. "You see, I find that statistics, geometry and mathematics. We use all of them in our daily lives. Whether we're counting Life Points or home runs or how many helpings of dinner we have."

"I never thought of it that way," Jaden mused.

_'Of_ _course not. The instant anything resembling math or science is mentioned, you immediately space out,_' Haou said with a snort.

Jaden decided to ignore that.

"So do you have a formula for everything?" Syrus asked.

Bastion chuckled. "I'll show you," he said before leading the way into the Ra Yellow dorm.

The Ra dorm wasn't as luxurious as the Obelisk dorm but it was still better than the Slifer dorm. Bastion led Jaden and Syrus to his room on the second floor; one thing Jaden noticed was that the Ras didn't have roommates.

Bastion opened the dorm room and Jaden and Syrus gasped when they saw what was in Bastion's room. The walls and ceiling were covered with equations and formulas. "Welcome to my dorm room," Bastion said. "Also my lab and my workshop." He pointed to the wall his desk was next to. "Over there are formulas for Trap Cards." He pointed to the opposite wall and ceiling. "Over there is for Spell Cards." He pointed to the wall with the window. "And that's…well, you get the idea. In here, I've cracked the ability to beat almost every card ever made but, as you can see, I'm running out of room. So…" He held up a mop and a paint bucket. "Mind helping?"

"Sure," Jaden and Syrus said.

The three of them set out to repaint Bastion's dorm.

"Hey, check it out, I'm Michelangelo!" Jaden said. He was currently standing on a step ladder while Syrus and Bastion were laughing. "Get it? Because I'm painting on the ceiling!" Jaden lost his footing and his hold on his brush; he managed to regain his footing so that he didn't fall but the brush went flying into Syrus's face.

"You do realize, Jaden, that this means war," Syrus said with mock anger as he reached over to pick up a paint bucket.

Jaden, jumping down from the step ladder, eyed the bucket warily. "It was an accident, Sy," he protested.

"That's enough, you two," Bastion said in a scolding tone. "Now, give me that paint."

Syrus threw the paint at Jaden who quickly ducked out of the way and the paint covered Bastion's face instead. Jaden burst out laughing.

"Oh, funny, is it?" Bastion asked before smacking Jaden in the face with a rag coated in paint.

Needless to say, it was a paint war after that.

**. . .**

Sometime later, after a ceasefire was called between the two Slifers and one Ra, the three finished painting Bastion's room. After cleaning themselves up, Bastion invited the two Slifers to the Ra cafeteria for some food.

Jaden looked at the amount of food with wide eyes and he immediately began helping himself. "This is so sweet! You're all right, Bastion," he said, happily taking a plate piled high with food to one of the tables in the cafeteria.

"Yeah and so is Ra Yellow's food," Syrus agreed as he sat down beside Jaden.

"You flatter us," Bastion said; he brought over his own tray and sat down. "But I'm sure it isn't that much better than Slifer's."

Jaden's eyes bugged out when he saw the lobster on Bastion's plate. "Trust me, the closest thing we've got to fish is Pharaoh's breath," he admitted.

"Speaking of bottom dwellers, what were you talking to Crowler about earlier?" Syrus asked curiously.

"Actually, he wants me to test to be an Obelisk," Bastion said.

"Are you serious?" Syrus said, surprised, and Bastion nodded.

"Is that why you were cleaning your room? Because you're switching dorms? Well, congrats, Bastion, you deserve it," Jaden said.

"Again, you flatter me," Bastion said with a faint smile.

"Nah, you really do deserve it. You were awesome at the entrance exams."

**Flashback**

_On the field in front of the proctor were Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (A: 800/D: 2200) and Big Shield Guardna (A: 100/D: 2600). The monster on the other side of the field was a Vorse Raider (A: 1900/D: 1200) and there was also a facedown card._

_"All right, new guy," the dueling proctor said. "Multiple choice; you have two monsters staring you down, do you A. throw in the towel, B. beg for mercy or C. run home to mama?"_

_"I choose D. none of the above," Bastion declared, revealing his Trap Card. "I activate my Trap, Ring of Destruction. With this card, I can destroy a monster on the field and we both take damage equal to its Attack Points."_

_A metal ring surrounded by flames appeared before encircling Vorse Raider's neck and exploding, taking out Vorse Raider and dealing damage to both Bastion and the Dueling protector._

_Proctor: 0_

_Bastion: 1300 WINNER_

_"A clever move," the proctor said. "Welcome to the Academy."_

**End Flashback**

"You kicked that Duel Proctor's butt," Jaden said. "You'll be a shoe-in to pass Crowler's test."

Syrus nodded in agreement.

"Well, thank you," Bastion said. As Jaden and Syrus dug into their meal, he just looked at them with a small, sad smile on his face.

**. . .**

In Chazz's room in the Obelisk Boys' Dorm, Chazz was currently in a video-chat with his older brothers; Slade and Jagger. They were currently on a flat-screen TV, looking with some contempt at their younger brother.

"_Got it, Chazz?_" Slade asked.

"Yeah," Chazz said.

"_We can't hear you,_" Jagger said.

"I said I get it!" Chazz snapped, rolling his eyes. Word had somehow gotten to his family that he was in jeopardy of losing his position among the elite so they called to 'check up' on him.

"_Well, you better understand,_" Slade said coolly. "_The Princeton Group has a plan. Your brother and I are already going through with our ends of it._"

"_And you had better be following through with your end as well,_" Jagger said. "_Just think of it, little brother, the world of politics, finance and Duel Monsters. If the Princeton family rises to the top of all these things, we will control the world. The future of the Princeton family relies on you._"

"_Be the best, no matter what,_" Slade shouted and the video-chat ended.

Chazz clicked off the communicator. _Be the best,_ he thought snidely. _How can I be the best?_ He stood up before walking over to the window in his room. In the distance, he could see Jaden and Syrus.

_When there are lucky punks like those guys out there?_ He thought before he frowned when he spotted Bastion walking up to the two Slifers before all three of them took off down the path toward the Slifer dorm.

_Looks like Bastion's heading off to spend the night in the Slifer dorm. That means his dorm room will be empty!_ Chazz thought before his lips curved as an idea came to him.

**. . .**

At the Slifer Dorm, Jaden and Bastion were fast asleep on the floor and snoring. There were only three bed bunks, though, so Jaden was sharing with Bastion while Syrus and Chumley were in their own beds, looking down at the two of them.

"Hey, Syrus, what's that Ra doing here?" Chumley asked.

"He just had his room painted so we're letting him crash here for the night," Syrus replied.

"But what if he wakes up and starts to make fun of us, or even worse, duel us?" Chumley said cautiously.

"Bastion's okay, Chumley. Besides, he let us eat at the Ra cafeteria," Syrus said.

"Oh, he can have my bed then."

**. . .**

Sometime before dawn, Chazz went up to Bastion's dorm room and was about to open it when he noticed the desk up against the wall next to the door. He opened one of the drawers and found a dueling deck; looking through it, the black-haired Obelisk realized the deck was the same one that Bastion had used for his entrance exam.

_Nice,_ he thought. _Without his deck, Bastion won't be able to duel me. And I'll get to keep my place at the top._

He got out of the dorm and headed toward the docks. When he got close to the water, he tossed Bastion's deck into the water and laughed.

He was unaware of the fact that two people had just seen him do that, two people who frequently hung out by the docks near the lighthouse.

**. . .**

Later that morning, Jaden, Syrus and Bastion were awakened by someone knocking rapidly on the door. "Jaden!" a shout sounded outside.

Jaden got up and opened the door to reveal Ms. Dorothy, the owner of the card shop he had helped during the promotion exams. "What is it, Ms. Dorothy?" he asked.

"I was unloading some supplies form the docks when I saw them, cards everywhere!"

The three boys gasped and immediately headed toward the docks, where they found that Dorothy was right; there were many cards lying scattered in the water.

"That's Ring of Destruction," Jaden said, pointing out the Trap Card when he saw it.

"And Vorse Raider," Syrus added, also spotting a card he recognized.

"Bastion, these are all of your cards," Jaden said. _Who would do such a thing?_ He thought.

"It's my own fault," Bastion said. "This deck was in the desk I moved out to the hall while we were painting yesterday."

"Who would want to do something like this?" Syrus wondered aloud.

"Someone who doesn't want you to be promoted to Obelisk Blue," Jaden said before he looked at his friend. "What are you going to do? Your promotion exam is in less than an hour."

Bastion just knelt down and picked up one of the wet cards. "Leave it to me," he said.

**. . .**

Accompanied by Jaden and Syrus, Bastion entered the main dueling arena where Dr. Crowler and Chazz were waiting. "Ah, Bastion, you made it," Crowler said. When he spotted Jaden and Syrus, he frowned. "And I see you brought some friends."

"I hope you duel better than the company you keep," Chazz said with a smirk.

"Wait, Chazz is your opponent?" Jaden narrowed his eyes before looking at his friend. "Bastion, he must have been the guy who chucked your cards into the ocean."

"Pardon?" Crowler said, confused.

"I don't know what he's talking about, Dr. Crowler. I didn't do anything," Chazz said.

"Oh, is that so?"

The group turned to find Zane, Alexis, Arina and Kasumi standing at the entrance.

"I saw you, Chazz. You dumped those cards into the water," Alexis said. "Normally, I don't like to snitch, but you don't mess with someone's deck."

"That's low, Chazz, even for you," Jaden said coolly.

"Oh come on. How do you know I wasn't throwing away my own cards?" Chazz demanded, though everyone knew he was still lying as he did have two witnesses. "I guess Bastion and I just have similar decks."

"You're a liar," Arina snapped.

"Nobody calls me a liar and nobody calls me a thief," Chazz snapped.

"Fine, you're not. Let's just get on with our duel, shall we?" Bastion said, unconcerned with everything that was going on.

"But, Bastion, what about your deck?" Syrus asked.

"Don't worry about it. A good duelist always keeps a spare deck on hand, or a few," Bastion said before he unzipped his yellow jacket. "You two saw all of my formulas on the wall, right? Well…" He opened his blazer to reveal a vest with six deck pouches. "They were for all of my different decks. And each of them contains one of the six attributes."

Chazz cringed. _Damn,_ he thought as his plan to keep Bastion from taking the exam backfired. "Fine, keep your six crummy decks. I need only one, which I'll unleash on you for thinking you're better than me."

Bastion activated his duel disk and inserted one of his decks. "You're just a theorem to be solved, Chazz, a code to be cracked, you're finished."

"Bring it, you worthless reject," Chazz hissed, also activating his duel disk.

"Duel!"

**Chazz: 4000**

**Bastion: 4000**

"Get ready because here comes the hurt," Chazz said as he started off. "I summon Chthonian Soldier." A dark armored warrior appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1400). "And a card facedown, that'll do it for now."

A card appeared vertically in front of him.

"Oh will it now?" Bastion asked.

"Bastion sounds like he has something up his sleeve," Jaden mused.

"He works quickly," Alexis said as she, Zane, Kasumi and Arina came over to stand behind Jaden and Syrus.

"I've only seen Bastion duel once, at the entrance exams," Kasumi said.

"He's good," Arina said. "I saw him duel at the promotion exams; Chazz may have bitten off more than he can eat."

"I summon Hydrogeddon in Attack Mode. Hydrogeddon, arise," Bastion said before anyone could say anything in response to that, though Kasumi looked faintly confused for a moment until she realized what Arina had been trying to say.

A geyser of muddy water appeared before a muddy brown and green water monster that resembled a dinosaur came out of it in front of Bastion (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"Now, attack Chthonian Soldier. Hydro Gust Attack, destroy," Bastion ordered and his monster let out a blast of water that shot forward and slammed into the soldier, shattering him.

"Thanks, you just activated my Soldier's special ability," Chazz said. "It causes you to take the same amount of damage to your Life Points as I do."

**Chazz: 3600**

**Bastion: 3600**

"Not bad," Zane said.

"Bastion walked right into that one," Jaden mused.

'_It could be part of his plan, though,_' Haou mused.

"I activate a Special Ability also," Bastion said, taking out his deck and fanning out the cards in his hand as he searched for a specific one. "You see, Chazz, when Hydrogeddon successfully destroys a monster in battle, I'm allowed to summon another Hydrogeddon from my deck. So rise, Hydrogeddon!"

Bastion took another Hyrogeddon from his deck and placed it on his disk. A double of his first monster appeared on the field next to the first one (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"And my Battle Phase continues, which means that now I can wage a direct attack on you, Chazz. Go, Hydrogeddon, Hydro Gust Attack!"

The new monster sent a blast of water toward Chazz, who was knocked down from the attack.

**Chazz: 2000**

**Bastion: 3600**

_Not a bad move,_ Jaden thought.

_'It_ _was okay,_' Haou said; he was rarely impressed by other duelists.

"You'll pay for that," Chazz said angrily as he got back to his feet. "I activate my Trap, Call of the Haunted." Chazz's facedown flipped up. "This lets me summon a monster back from my graveyard and the monster I choose is, that's right, Chthonian Soldier."

In a burst of electricity, the soldier reappeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1400).

"Next, I activate the spell Infernal Reckless Summon. After I Special Summon a monster with 1500 Attack or less, we must summon, in Attack Mode, all monsters from our hand, deck or Graveyard that match the monsters we currently have on the field." Chazz removed two cards from his deck. "And I'll bring out my other Chthonian Soldiers!"

From another burst of electricity, two more soldiers appeared side by side the first one (A: 1200/D: 1400) x 2.

"It doesn't matter how many of those things Chazz summons," Alexis said as Bastion summoned a third Hydrogeddon (A: 1600/D: 1000). "They still won't have enough Attack Points to beat those Hydrogeddons."

"Not by themselves, they won't," Zane said.

Chazz took another card from his hand. "I activate the Equip Spell Chthonian Alliance. The monster this card is equipped to gains 800 Attack for every monster on the field with the same name as it."

The Chthonian Soldier was surrounded by a dark aura and grew until it was three times its normal size (A: 1200-3600).

"That brings its Attack Points up to…well, you're the math nerd, you figure it out."

"That's a lot of points," Syrus said while the other spectators gasped.

'Attack one of those Hydrogeddons," Chazz commanded and his giant soldier slashed through the Hydrogeddon in the middle and Bastion grunted from the damage he took.

**Chazz: 2000**

**Bastion: 1600**

"That's not good," Jaden murmured. "His Life Points have gone down by more than half."

_'He's_ _still in this, though,_' Yubel said, materializing behind Jaden to watch the rest of the duel.

"Bravo, good show," Bastion said as he drew a card, not seeming to care about the loss of points before he placed another card on his disk. "But it will be short-lived. Rise, Oxygeddon."

A dinosaur with large wings made of green air appeared out of a geyser of oxygen (A: 1800/D: 800).

"Now, attack one of the 1200 point Chthonian Soldiers with Vapor Stream."

A clear blast of air shot forward from the Oxygeddon to slam into the Chthonian Soldier, causing it to shatter (Chthonian A: 3600-2800).

**Chazz: 1400**

**Bastion: 1600**

"Forget?" Chazz said with a scoff. "When my Soldier's destroyed, you take the same amount of damage as I do."

**Chazz: 1400**

**Bastion: 1000**

"My turn's not done yet. Next, my Hydrogeddon will attack your other Chthonian Soldier," Bastion said and one of his Hydrogeddon's attacked and destroyed the second soldier, causing both players to take the same amount of damage (Chthonian A: 2800-2000).

**Chazz: 1000**

**Bastion: 600**

"Oh man, why does Bastion keep attacking when he's hurting himself more than he's hurting Chazz?" Syrus protested when he compared the sores.

"He's fine," Jaden assured the little Slifer.

"He's playing it smart," Zane added. "The Chthonian Soldier with the equip card had 3600 Attack Points. Bastion would have had to summon an incredibly powerful monster to beat him. Unless, however…" He trailed off and looked at his brother, waiting for the little Slifer to figure it out for himself.

"Wait, I see, unless he takes out the other Chthonians and lowers the big one's Attack Points," Syrus realized.

"Right, Sy," Jaden said with a nod. "So if Bastion's going to win this, he's going to have to give up some Life Points."

"Last, I'll play this card facedown."—a facedown card appeared at Bastion's feet—"That'll do for now."

"Will it? I doubt it, Wiz Kid," Chazz said tauntingly as he drew a card. "I sacrifice my Chthonian Soldier and all the cards in my hand in order to summon Infernal Incinerator! Bet you didn't see that coming." He started to laugh as his soldier was engulfed by a sphere of fire.

"Infernal Incinerator?!"

The sphere exploded, covering the field in smoke and, from it, a giant fiendish red-and-yellow salamander with the top-half of a Chthonian soldier on its head (A: 2800/D: 1800).

"Better break out your calculator because if you can't figure out a way to beat this guy, you're through," Chazz said.

_I hope that facedown will be able to help Bastion,_ Jaden thought, eyeing the monster worriedly.

"Face it, Bastion. You have no chance against my Infernal Incinerator," Chazz said. "Especially since he gains 200 Attack for every monster you have on the field." (Incinerator A: 2800-3400).

"Oh man! This isn't good," Syrus cried.

"Infernal Incinerator, attack with Firestorm Blast!" Chazz ordered and the monster opened its mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and launched a huge fire ball at Oxygeddon.

"I activate my Trap, Amorphic Barrier," Bastion said and a wall of ice rose up around his monsters and the spectators let out the breath they had been holding. "When I have three or more monsters, this Trap Card stops my opponent's attack and ends the Battle Phase. But nice try, Chazz."

"That was close," Syrus said.

"Who cares?" Chazz said with a snort. "One turn, that's all it buys you and then you'll be all mine."

"I'm afraid there won't be a next turn," Bastion said as he drew a card.

"What?"

"You heard me. I activate the Spell Card, Bonding H2O," Bastion said, inserting a card depicting a beaker being poured to create water. "I sacrifice two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon,"—the three monsters turned into geysers as they combined together—"and summon Water Dragon!"

The geysers formed a large serpentine dragon made entirely out of water (A: 2800/D: 2600).

"And since the number of monsters on my side of the field has decreased, so does Infernal Incinerator's Attack Points." (Incinerator A: 3400-3000).

"It doesn't matter. My monster's Attack Points are higher than yours," Chazz said with a smirk.

"Better double check your work," Bastion said. "Because I've already done all the math."

"Done all the math?" Crowler echoed. "Does that mean…?"

"Bastion had this planned from the beginning," Jaden said.

_'Impressive_,' Haou grudgingly admitted.

Water Dragon created a large tidal wave that washed over Infernal Incinerator and took away all of its power (A: 3000-0).

"No, its Attack Points!" Chazz cried.

"Indeed. That's Water Dragon's Special Ability," Bastion explained. "You see, when he's out on the field, the Attack Points of FIRE-attribute and Pyro-type monsters automatically become zero. Now Water Dragon, attack! Tidal blast!"

The dragon roared before unleashing a high-powered blast of water that crashed into Infernal Incinerator, destroying it, knocking Chazz from the stage and filling the whole arena with water.

**Chazz: 0**

**Bastion: 600 WINNER**

"A well played duel, Chazz," Bastion said as Chazz surfaced and the water receded. "But not well enough."

"Pure luck," Chazz snapped, spitting out some water. "You drew a lucky card and stumbled into victory."

"Perhaps, but I find that luck tends to favor the prepared," Bastion said. "And I was prepared to defeat you with half a dozen other cards as well, just as I was prepared for your suspected sabotage of my deck."

"What do you mean, Bastion?" Syrus asked.

"The moment I learned Chazz was going to be my opponent, I was prepared to face his underhanded tactics," Bastion explained. "So, before I left last night, I made sure that all of my best cards were with me and left behind the cards I could afford to lose."

"How can you even prove it was your cards that got thrown in the ocean?" Chazz demanded.

"Simple," Bastion said, removing his wet Vorse Raider card. Jaden and the others noticed there was a math equation on the front. "This card I retrieved from the water had a formula that I wrote on it. I suppose you could've written it, but then the math would've been wrong and it's not. Chazz, you cheated, you lie, you stole, you lose. You deserve to be demoted."

"This can't happen to me," Chazz screamed in fury.

"Bastion Misawa," Dr. Crowler said as he walked over to join them. "Congratulations and welcome to Obelisk Blue."

"Thank you, Dr. Crowler, but I'm afraid I cannot accept such an invitation at this time."

Crowler looked shocked. "What? But why?"

"When I entered this Academy, I made a promise that I would only enter Obelisk Blue when I become the number one student in the freshman class," Bastion said before he turned to Jaden. "Jaden, of all the new students, I think the number one student is you. You shouldn't even be in Slifer with your skills."

"Hey, thanks," Jaden said with a smile. "Does that mean you want to settle this right here? Seeing you guys duel makes me want to get my game on."

"Sorry, but not now."

"Why not?"

"Because I have a lot of work to do before I duel you, many formulas to write, theorems to solve, equations to bounce. You're a good duelist and I want to be ready," Bastion explained. "Soon, my dorm room walls will be filled with new problems and equations and then we will have our duel. Just be prepared for it to turn out like that ball game, you know, the one where I struck you out."

Jaden smirked. "You keep on dreaming, Bastion. Baseball's a past time but dueling's my life. Until then."

"Until then."

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 9. I hope that you liked it**

**Darth: I did**

**Blaze: you just liked seeing Chazz get creamed by Bastion**

**Darth: well…yeah**

**Blaze: can't blame you. I don't like Chazz until the Shadow Rider arc and only then did he turn into one of my favorite characters**

**Darth: yup so how long until you're done with chapter 10?**

**Blaze: oh I'm already done with it. I started writing ahead and I'm already up to the duel with the Duel Giant and with Damon, which I combined into one chapter**

**Darth: oh**

**Blaze: I can't **_**wait**_** until I get to the Shadow Rider arc. I'm going to have so much fun!**

**Darth: I bet you will**

**Blaze: yup so please review and I will post chapter ten either Sunday or Monday (if things go according to plan anyway)**


	10. The Monkey Who Could Duel

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, Vanishing Raptor, decode9, bobmanv2.0**_** and **_**iloveyugiohGX93**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great. Here is chapter 10. I said I'd post it on Monday at the latest so here it is. Hope you like it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**10**

**The Monkey Who Could Duel**

A few days after Bastion's duel with Chazz, things started to calm down around Duel Academy, as much as anything on this island can calm down. Kasumi was currently sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean. Classes were over for the day and she decided that she didn't want to return to the Obelisk Blue dorm as she attempted to get her mind off the nightmare she had the night before.

It had been several months since Kasumi last had a nightmare about the time when she lost control of her power but it had returned to her last night. She shivered at the memory. _I'm sorry_, she thought, though she knew there was no point in apologizing; her parents were still gone and nothing was going to change that.

She wanted to believe that it wasn't her fault; she had only been nine years old when it happened after all. So surely she couldn't be to blame for what happened?

The Obelisk shook her head. That was only wishful thinking and she knew it; it was her fault because it was her power, the curse that she never wanted, the power that she feared more than anything and the curse that made her fear she would end up losing everything once again if it was ever revealed. She just wished there was some way to get rid of it and yet she didn't know how.

Kasumi wondered if Jaden ever felt that way, if he ever wanted to get rid of the powers he was born with that she knew were much more dangerous than hers. She didn't want to ask him because, when it came to the powers of the Supreme King, Jaden wasn't very talkative about it. Raiden was the only one who knew more than Kasumi did and even he didn't know everything, but then, even Jaden didn't know everything. As far as Kasumi knew, Yubel was the only one who knew more than any of them.

It made Kasumi wonder if there was someone out there for her who was like Yubel, who knew more about her power than she did. But if there was then where were they? And why weren't they bothering to help Kasumi understand more about the curse that she was forced to live with?

"Hey Kas, what're you doing here?"

Kasumi looked over her shoulder to find her adopted brother walking over to join her. "Hey, Jay. I'm just sitting here, thinking," she said.

Jaden sat down beside her. "Should I have started running?" he teased and was rewarded with a smack in the shoulder.

Kasumi shook her head with a smile, causing blue-black bangs to fly into her face and she brushed them aside before looking at the sea. "Jay, do you think Raiden is all right wherever he is?" she asked finally.

"I'm sure he is, Kas," Jaden said confidently. "Why do you ask though?"

Kasumi shrugged. "No reason really. I guess I'm just…worried, especially after everything that went on with the Abandoned Dorm and all that," she said.

"I know. It's hard to think about what happened, especially if Raiden did get caught up in that whole Shadow Game mess, but we've gotta believe he's fine and that we'll find him," Jaden said. He cast a sidelong look at his sister who hadn't taken her eyes off the undulating waves of the ocean. "You look like you have something else on your mind."

She glanced at him before looking away, not sure if she should broach the topic. Just like there were some things that Jaden didn't talk about with her, there were some things that she didn't talk about with him and what happened to her parents was one of those things. She didn't even like thinking about what happened, and last night's nightmare only served to bring the memory to the forefronts of her mind for the first time in months.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," she said.

Jaden continued to study her, obviously not believing her, but he didn't push and instead turned his gaze back to the ocean. "You're adjusting well," he mused. "I've never seen you connect with someone as quickly as you connected with Arina and Alexis."

"Yeah, well they're really nice and I guess I'm just glad that they don't look at me like I'm a freak," Kasumi said softly.

"Kas, you know no one does that anymore back home."

"That you know of," Kasumi murmured under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Kasumi said quickly.

Jaden raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing.

"I'm glad you're not isolating yourself, Jay," she added. "You know, you used to do that all the time before Raiden disappeared and now you're making friends left and right."

Jaden smiled a little. "I guess it took me longer to come to terms with everything that's happened to me since my powers awakened," he admitted. He smirked before adding, "Raiden's constant attempts to get me to stop avoiding everyone finally paid off."

Kasumi chuckled. She pressed her lips together as a question came into her mind. "Jay, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Yeah, I know. Go ahead."

Kasumi hesitated, knowing Jaden never talked about what happened but she was curious and she decided to just go ahead and ask. "Were you scared when your powers awakened, Jay?" she asked.

Jaden sighed. "Honestly? I really don't know what I felt. Everything was just so chaotic; I didn't have time to sort out my feelings. I just reacted…" He trailed off before his face closed off and he said nothing more.

Kasumi heard enough to determine that something bad had definitely happened when his powers awakened and she couldn't help but wonder what happened. She didn't ask him though, already knowing that he wouldn't answer her anyway.

Despite that, Kasumi was thankful; talking with her brother had gotten her mind off her nightmare and she was able to push it away from the forefronts of her mind. Hopefully, it wouldn't come back that night.

"Thanks, Jay," she said.

"You're welcome…for what?" Jaden asked, confused.

"Just…thank you," she said, not wishing to explain the real reason why she was thanking him. She stood up and Jaden also got to his feet.

"Well, okay then. I think I'm gonna go get something to eat. I'll see ya later, Kas," Jaden said.

"See you." Kasumi watched her adopted brother jog away before she began making her way back to the Obelisk dorm, feeling much better now that her mind was off of that nightmare.

**. . .**

In another area of Academy Island, there lay a hidden facility and, within the facility, there were a lot of people in suits and scientists running around as a crash, the sound of glass breaking, echoed throughout the area.

_Warning! Warning!_

An alarm was blaring.

"Code red! I repeat, code red!"

People were running around, searching for something or pulling out tranquilizer guns.

"We must hurry, the specimen can't be allowed to escape," a security guy stated as he readied his tranquilizer gun.

Elsewhere in the facility, a monkey with a tech helmet on his head and a duel disk on his arm ran out of a room, heading toward an elevator. The doors opened, revealing a security guard with a gun. The guard fired but the specimen was too fast for him; it leapt into the elevator onto the guard's head and then onto the elevator's. It rode the elevator to the very top of the facility, where it broke through a window and escaped into the silent night.

**. . .**

The morning after the monkey's escape, Chazz walked out of the school with a small bag. He glanced back at the school that denied him his rights as he called it and curled his lip into a sneer. "Stinkin' Duel Academy. You demote me. You laugh at me? Well, I've had it!"

He continued to walk toward the docks, saying more to himself than anyone else, "You won't have Chazz Princeton to kick around anymore."

**. . .**

"Jaden! Jaden! It's awful! He's gone!"

Jaden glanced over his shoulder as Syrus ran into the lecture hall before Professor Banner could start his class. "Who's gone?" he asked.

"It's Chazz! He's gone," Syrus replied.

"What? Chazz is missing?"

Almost immediately, the class began gossiping.

Kasumi snorted. "Why am I not surprised he did this?" she said.

"Hey, you know what?" Taiyou said suddenly. "I saw Chazz packing his stuff last night."

"I guess he didn't' want to show his face after losing to Ras and Slifers," another Obelisk said.

"I say good riddance," another Obelisk said. "We don't need duelists like him if he can't beat the stepping stones."

_'Some_ _friends they are,_' Haou snorted.

"Jaden," Syrus said. "I know Chazz has been a pain to us in the past but what if he's in some serious danger? He might need our help."

"I think you're right, Sy," Jaden said. "Let's go look for him. We're not letting Chazz run away without a fight."

'_I_ _say forget about him,_' Haou said.

_'You_ _would__,__but no one asked your opinion,_' Yubel said.

Jaden and Syrus left the lecture hall.

Alexis, Jasmine and Mindy watched them go while Kasumi—who was sitting behind those three girls—got to her feet and slipped out of the room.

"With all the important things out of the way, let's get start…hmm?" Banner frowned when he spotted a few empty seats. "Where's Jaden and Syrus? Also Kasumi, Alexis, Jasmine and Mindy?"

"When did they leave?" Arina wondered, looking up to find that the four girls who had been sitting above her were gone.

**. . .**

Jaden and Syrus snuck out of the school by crawling through a hole in the wall. But as soon as they got up and dusted themselves off, a chuckle sounded, causing both of them to jump and Syrus to scream. They turned to find Kasumi standing there with her arms folded across her chest.

"You could've just walked out the front door like I did, y'know," she said with a smirk.

"You do know the school does have regular doors, right?" Alexis's voice said at the exact same time, causing Kasumi to jump and turn around to find Alexis, Jasmine and Mindy standing a few feet away.

"Hey, we're…uh.. just getting an early start on our homework," Jaden said.

"You? You usually wait until the last minute," Kasumi said.

"I do not. Yubel doesn't let me," Jaden muttered the last part only loud enough for Kasumi to hear.

"We know you're going to look for Chazz. We heard you two talking about it," Alexis said.

"Uh, yeah, we were," Syrus admitted. "Are you going to stop us?"

"Oh, we have no intent on stopping you," Alexis said. "In fact, we're going to help."

"Since when do you care about Chazz?" Jaden asked curiously.

"I don't," Alexis said. "But Chazz is an Obelisk Blue and we look after our own."

"I don't like Chazz at all but I don't want him hurt, or worse," Kasumi said with a shrug.

"Good enough for me," Jaden said and the two Slifers and four Obelisks took off into the woods, looking for Chazz.

After about half an hour of looking for Chazz, Alexis finally got tired and stopped. "_That's it," she said before, at the top of her voice, she shouted, "Chazz! You little toad! You better show yourself__,__right now__, __because if this is a trick, you better hope we don't find you!_"

"Yeah, threatening him, that'll bring him out," Jaden said sarcastically.

"I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason for Chazz disappearing," Jasmine said calmly.

"Yeah, like maybe he snuck out to get me some flowers," Mindy gushed. "My Chazzy is so romantic."

"Chazzy?" Kasumi echoed.

"Romantic?" Jaden said.

"That's a new one," Syrus said.

"You like Chazz?" Jasmine said with a frown. "Last week, it was Bastion. Who's next, little Syrus?"

"Well, he is kinda cute," Mindy replied.

Alexis noticed something moving. "Shh," she said suddenly.

"What is it?" Jaden asked, stepping as quietly as possible to Alexis's side when he, like everyone else, noticed she was staring intently at a bush.

"Something's moving," she said softly and everyone followed her gaze.

"Chazzy?" Mindy asked.

"All right, game over. We found you," Jaden said as the group walked toward the bush.

Something leapt out of the bush at that moment, scaring everyone; it plowed right into them, creating a scuffle that lasted for almost half a minute before the thing ran back into the woods.

"Not Chazz," Syrus said as he got to his feet.

"Not human, either," Alexis added.

"What was that thing?" Mindy asked.

"I heard it!" a shout sounded.

"Where'd it go?" Another voice called out.

"There it is!"

"Move!"

Three men wearing suits ran onto the path; one of them was wearing a pair of sunglasses and was holding a gun.

A scream sounded and the five remaining students just realized that they were missing someone.

"Jasmine!"

The creature—everyone could see that it was a monkey—was leaping through the trees with Jasmine in its paws.

"It's what she always wanted," Mindy said. "Some guy sweeping her off her feet."

"Yeah, some guy, not some monkey," Alexis pointed out.

"What's going on?" Syrus wondered.

"Who cares? It's got Jasmine. We have to save her," Jaden said and the five kids took off after the monkey.

**. . .**

Jasmine was attempting to tell the monkey to let her go; it was not working. However, when the monkey jumped into a tree that jutted over the edge of a cliff, Jasmine clung to the monkey. "Don't let me go!" she screamed.

The men caught up with the monkey and the girl first. "Take aim and fire," the shortest of the group commanded.

"Sir," the man holding the gun said. "I can't shoot him without harming the girl. As much as we need that monkey, harming a girl would put us in a lot of hot water."

Jaden and the others arrived at that moment and Jaden noticed that, besides the weird helmet and harness, the monkey was also wearing a duel disk. "Hey, that monkey's wearing a duel disk. Either that, or a strange-looking banana," he said.

"That's no banana or an ordinary monkey," the short man said. "His name is Wheeler and he's a trained duelist."

"A dueling monkey? No way," Jaden exclaimed. "Still, Jasmine…"

'Why am I not surprised by this?' Haou asked, most likely referring to the dueling monkey.

"Somebody help me!" Jasmine cried.

"If you're telling the truth, and that monkey really knows how to duel, then the only way to settle this is with a duel," Jaden said before he stepped towards Wheeler. "You hear that, Wheeler? Let's throw down."

Wheeler cautiously stared at Jaden with narrowed eyes, still carrying Jasmine.

"I think you got his attention, Jay," Syrus said.

"Okay, if I win, you let Jasmine go," Jaden said to the monkey. "If you win, we let you go, including the suits with the guns."

The guys in the suits growled; they couldn't afford to lose such a valuable specimen.

"But where does that leave me?" Jasmine protested.

"Don't worry. He's not gonna win," Jaden assured her. "So what do you say, Wheeler?"

Wheeler let out some screeches.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"How can they understand each other?" Mindy asked.

"Maybe all that training has made Wheeler learn how to understand human speech," Alexis suggested. She paused before adding, "Or maybe Jaden's really a monkey."

Wheeler set Jasmine down towards the top of the tree before leaping onto a rock; it screeched as the duel disk flickered on.

"Wow, you really do know how to work that thing," Jaden mused, activating his own duel disk.

"I have a clear shot," the man with the gun said as he took aim.

"No, wait. This could be the field test we've been waiting for," the short man said.

"All right, time to duel," Jaden said.

"Duel!" A digitized voice came from Wheeler's helmet.

"It can talk?" Syrus asked.

Kasumi, Alexis and Mindy were just as shocked as he was.

"Please, that would be completely unrealistic," the short man said. "The helmet reads his mind and talks for him."

Both duelists drew their opening hands as the duel began.

**Jaden: 4000**

**Wheeler: 4000**

"I'll start off," Jaden said as he drew his sixth card before he glanced at the cards in his hand. "I summon Elemental Hero Ocean to my field in Attack Mode."

After he placed the card on his disk, a blue monster with a shark fin on his head and silver armor on his lower body, wielding a two-prong trident, appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1200).

"And I'll call it a turn. You saw my moves, now do yours." He glanced at the others. "Get it, monkey see, monkey do?"

Kasumi face-palmed while everyone else groaned at the pun.

"My turn, my turn," Wheeler said. "Draw!" He drew a card before, through his helmet, he scanned the monster in front of him: [Berserk Gorilla. Attack: 2000. Level: 4. Recommended: Attack with this monster]. "Berserk Gorilla! Attack Mode!"

Wheeler placed the card on his disk and a giant gorilla with red eyes appeared on the field (A: 2000/D: 1000).

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "Family? Guess we know who got the looks," he said with a smile.

"Berserk Gorilla attacks Ocean," Wheeler said before he let out some more screeches as Berserk Gorilla slugged Ocean off the field.

**Jaden: 3500**

**Wheeler: 4000**

"Now, one card facedown," Wheeler said. "End turn. Monkey see, monkey duel! Better!"

"Now the monkey has puns?" Jaden said with some surprise.

"I make monkey out of you! You! You!" Wheeler taunted and Jaden groaned.

"Jaden, focus on the duel," Syrus said. "Don't lose your cool."

"It'll be hard, Sy," Alexis said. "After all, he is getting beat by a monkey."

'_I_ _am not losing to a damn monkey,_' Haou hissed.

Jaden drew his next card as his turn began before he looked at it and then he shrugged. "Eh, may as well. I play Dark Fusion to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix in order to form my Evil Hero Inferno Wing," he said.

His two monsters appeared momentarily to fuse together to create the dark-winged fiendish monster with the curved green claws on her fingers and the blue V shaped visor over her eyes (A: 2100/D: 1200).

"Now, attack that Gorilla with Inferno Blast," Jaden ordered and Inferno Wing grinned before unleashing a blast of blue fire that slammed into the gorilla, causing it to shatter.

**Jaden: 3500**

**Wheeler: 3900**

"And now you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's Attack because of Inferno Wing's effect," Jaden added as the winged fiend flew in front of Wheeler and blasted him again with blue fire.

**Jaden: 3500**

**Wheeler: 1900**

After that, Wheeler sat down, looking depressed and Jaden frowned. "You calling it quits already?"

"Awesome. Wheeler lost over 2000 Life Points," Syrus said. "Good for us."

"Yeah, not so much for our furry little friend," Alexis commented.

"Does that mean he's giving up?" Mindy asked.

"Oh please," the short man said. "He just made one mistake, that's all. Back at the lab, if he made one mistake, we would punish him for it."

The kids gasped while Kasumi, who loved animals very much, scowled and glared at the old man.

"No, he won't make mistakes again. He'll just get better," the short old man said, not noticing Kasumi's withering glare.

"Top secret, sir," one of the men in the suits whispered.

"Oh, right, never mind."

"Hey, Wheeler, are you giving up?" Jaden asked again.

"Never surrender, never surrender!" Wheeler screeched as he drew his next card. [Acrobat Monkey. Attack: 1000. Level: 4. Recommended: Combination with other cards to win battle].

"Then it looks like it's game on," Jaden said.

"I summon Acrobat Monkey in Attack Mode," Wheeler said and a blue metallic monkey that flipped around appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1800).

"Now, I activate facedown! Trap, Trap, DNA Surgery."

"DNA Surgery?" Jaden groaned. "That turns every monster on the field into whatever Type that monkey wishes."

"I choose Beast-Type, Beast-Type," Wheeler said. Inferno Wing, with a snarl of fury, was transformed into a wolf with a similar appearance while Acrobat Monkey looked like a real monkey but with blue armor on.

"Now, I play Wild Nature's Release."

"Wild Nature's Release," Alexis said as she realized what was coming. "That Spell Card increases the Attack Points of one Beast-Type or Beast-warrior-Type on the field by the value of its Defense Points. Wow, this monkey is good."

"And it looks bad for Jaden," Syrus said.

"He's getting beat by a monkey?" Kasumi smirked before murmuring, "I don't think I'm ever going to let him live this down."

"I heard that," Jaden said with a glare at his sister who simply grinned at him.

"Acrobat Monkey, power up, power up," Wheeler ordered. Acrobat Monkey flexed its muscles and shedding its armor until it was only wearing its helmet (A: 1000-2800).

"Go, Acrobat Monkey! Attack Inferno Wing with Somersault Smash."

Acrobat Monkey performed a spinning somersault and tacked Inferno Wing, causing her to shatter.

**Jaden: 2800**

**Wheeler: 1900**

After the attack though, Acrobat Monkey grabbed its head as if it was in pain before it shattered as well.

"What just happened?" Syrus asked.

"When Wild Nature's Release is used on a monster, that monster is destroyed at the turn's end," Alexis said.

"But that means Wheeler is defenseless," Syrus said.

"Your turn! Your turn!" Wheeler said.

"All right, my draw," Jaden said. He was interrupted when more monkey noises sounded; for a moment, he thought it was Wheeler until he glanced over to where a clump of rocks lay and gasped. "Guys, look over there."

Hiding behind the rock was a group of about a dozen monkeys.

"Uh oh, more monkeys," Syrus said.

"There must be a whole tribe of them," Mindy said.

_'That_ _must be why he's here. He wanted to get back to his family,_' Yubel said.

_'Coo_,' Winged Kuriboh cooed as he appeared on Jaden's shoulder, looking sadly at the group of monkeys.

Jaden looked at Wheeler. "Is that really why you escaped? Because you wanted to get back to your family?"

Wheeler nodded. "Must win! Miss friends, miss family," he said.

"Wheeler, I know you want to be free," Jaden said solemnly. "But I made a promise that I would rescue Jasmine by beating you in a duel. So I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Attack Mode."

The clay warrior with the small red head appeared on the field, ready to do battle (A: 800/D: 2000).

"Don't forget, don't forget! DNA Surgery. Clayman turns into a Beast-Type," Wheeler interrupted and the clay hero turned into a bear-like creature in armor.

"Fine by me," Jaden said with a shrug. "It doesn't stop me from playing the Spell Courageous Charge." Jaden inserted a card depicting a rocket about to collide with a big meteor. "First, I pay 1000 Life Points…"

**Jaden: 1****8****00**

**Wheeler: 1900**

"Then, I'll choose a monster with 1000 Attack or less, like Clayman, and let him attack."

The bear-like hero threw a transparent right hand at Wheeler, spooking him.

**Jaden: 1****8****00**

**Wheeler: 1100**

"Now, since I chose him for Courageous Charge, you also take damage equal to Clayman's Defense," Jaden added and Wheeler lied down on the ground, knowing that he had lost.

**Jaden: 1****8****00 WINNER**

**Wheeler: 0**

Wheeler's helmet showed a picture of a sad monkey with the word 'Lose' over it.

"That's game. So time to release Jasmine," Jaden added.

Wheeler gently picked Jasmine up from the tree before putting her on the ground. She immediately got to her feet and ran over to the others, where she was met in an embrace from Alexis and Mindy.

"Thanks for saving me," she said to Jaden.

"No problem," Jaden replied.

"What about Wheeler?" Mindy asked and the group turned to look at the monkey who looked like he had just lost something precious to him.

"I know it kidnapped me, but even I think it deserves more than being somebody's needle poking experiment," Jasmine added.

"All right, you flea-ridden failure," the man with the gun said. "Let's go."

"Hold on," Jaden said. "Wheeler doesn't belong with you. He belongs out here with his family."

"You know what? The boy has a point," the old man said. "Wheeler does belong with his family. So we'll just take all of them." Immediately he and the others took out guns and aimed them at the monkeys.

Jaden scowled. _That was not what I meant,_ he thought.

Kasumi, to everyone's surprise, put herself between the people in the suits and the tribe of monkeys. "You're gonna have to go through me!" she snapped angrily.

"Kas…?" Jaden began, concerned, afraid that the men would shoot her to get to the monkeys.

The pitter-patter of little feet sounded before a pudgy tabby cat suddenly leapt up on the men and made them all fall into each other.

"Pharaoh?" the gang said in surprise at the cat who single-handedly stopped the men and their guns.

"Tsk, tsk, Pharaoh. Naughty kitty."

The gang turned to see the familiar long-haired teacher wearing glasses; it was Professor Banner.

"You'll have to forgive Pharaoh. He gets testy when animals and humans are threatened." Banner gently picked up Pharaoh.

"Professor Banner!" the kids exclaimed.

"Who are you?" the old man demanded.

"He obviously needs a hearing aid. We just said who he was," Kasumi murmured to Jaden as she moved over to stand beside her adopted brother.

"Oh just your average teacher, duelist, animal lover." Still holding Pharaoh, Banner kicked one of the dropped guns over the edge of the cliff before adding, "Now, I don't think your boss would like it very much if he found out you three were involved with threatening children, nor would the authorities."

The old man scowled, knowing he wouldn't win this fight.

After the men left and the gang had removed the armor from Wheeler, until all he was wearing was the duel disk, they watched as Wheeler was reunited with the other monkeys.

"It's like a family reunion," Syrus mused.

"Hey, Wheeler, let's duel again sometime," Jaden called out.

_'No_,' Haou said.

Wheeler let out some more monkey sounds while waving and Jaden, ignoring Haou, gave him a two-fingered salute. "Me too. It was a super fun match," he said.

"Uh, Jaden, his talking helmet is gone, you know," Syrus said.

"Are you sure you aren't at least part monkey?" Kasumi asked.

Jaden glared at her but she just shrugged. "What? It's a reasonable question."

"That was a close one," Mindy said. "If the Professor hadn't shown up, Wheeler would've been dead meat as well as all the others."

"How'd you find us, Professor?" Alexis asked.

"Like I said, I love animals," Banner explained. "Plus, it wasn't so hard with a cat who can track as well as Pharaoh."

"But why were you looking for us?" Jaden asked.

"Well, children, I wanted to tell you that Chazz is just fine."

The gang smiled. "That's great news," Jaden said.

"Yes, but there is some bad news as well. Follow me, please."

Banner led the group to the docks before saying, "You see, early this morning, Chazz was already boarding a lone boat, heading back to the mainland."

"Well, that's a shame," Jaden said.

"He did make things interesting," Syrus said.

"My Chazzy," Mindy sighed.

Everyone else sighed too but for a different reason.

"Hey, cheer up," Jaden said. "I'm sure he'll be back again someday. After all, good rivals are hard to find."

"But class is never hard to find," Banner interrupted, "and you six have some making up to do."

The gang groaned before following Banner as he led them back to the school.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 10 and I hope that you enjoyed it. It will likely be a while before I update again because I'm starting school again in less than a week**

**Darth: so when are you likely to update?**

**Blaze: I don't know yet**

**Darth: oh okay**

**Blaze: so please review and I will post chapter 11 whenever I can**


	11. Secret Santa, Summoned Spirit

**Thank you to **_**decode9, DarkZorua100, northernlion196, Vanishing Raptor, iloveyugiohGX93**_** and **_**EndlessNight025**_** for reviewing the last chapter.**

**I know I said in the last chapter that last chapter was going to be the last one for a while but I decided to update once more before I went back to school on Monday so congrats, you get two updates in one week.**

**I've also decided that the next update will not be until I get to the Shadow Rider arc of un-beta-read chapters, which is only seven chapters from where I am in the un-beta-read chapters I've typed up so, hopefully, I will update within two or three weeks.**

**Also, as usual, thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter (there is fiancéshipping fluff but I'm not a great romance writer so yeah) and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**11**

**Secret Santa, Summoned Spirit**

It was a few days before winter break was to begin, and the majority of the students at Duel Academy would be heading home for the holidays. Jaden's parents were out of the country again so he and Kasumi were going to stay on the island for the holidays. It wasn't that much of a surprise; Jaden and Kasumi often spent their Christmas with just each other and Raiden, except for last Christmas. Luckily, they weren't going to be alone; Syrus and his brother were staying behind, as were Chumley, Alexis and Arina. Bastion was heading home for the holidays, though.

"I would go home for the holidays," Arina admitted to Kasumi as the two of them walked away from the main building. "But my family owns a traveling circus, so they rarely are ever home anyway."

"Is that why you're so acrobatic?" Kasumi asked.

The Russian student nodded. "Yeah, I was an acrobat in that circus but then got into dueling to find an identity for myself. I guess I just didn't want to spend the rest of my life in the circus."

"I can understand that. Jay and I are only staying here 'cause Jay's parents are out of the country again." Kasumi gazed up at the sky before adding, "I hope it snows, though. Jay, Raiden and I used to have snowball fights whenever it snowed, if it snowed enough, at least."

"Sounds fun."

"It is. It was like a tradition, though Raiden always trounced us."

"He cheated," Jaden said as he fell into step beside Kasumi, causing her to jump.

"Where did you come from?!" she exclaimed.

Jaden smirked. "You walked right past me and Sy when you left the building," he said, nodding to the little blue-haired Slifer who was standing at his side.

"Oh."

"What do you mean he cheated?' Arina asked curiously.

"He always went onto the roof and shoveled the snow off it onto us," Jaden said with a pout.

Kasumi snickered. "That only happened once while we were visiting your cousins," she said. "And you're only mad because he mostly got you."

"Because someone pushed me underneath it." Jaden looked at Kasumi

The blue-black haired Obelisk widened her eyes innocently, though a small smirk played on her lips. "Why are you looking at me?"

Jaden rolled his eyes but did smile. "It's going to be so different without everyone here, though," he admitted. "I mean I know practically everyone is going home for the holidays."

"Yeah."

"Well, more dueling time for us."

Kasumi chuckled. "Yeah." She pressed her lips together before her lips broke out into a wide, excited grin as an idea, one that she hadn't done since she lived with her sister and her real parents before her sister ran away and her real parents were killed. It was also something that she had suggested to Raiden and Jaden during their first Christmas together and they liked the idea; now, it became like a tradition with the exception of last year.

"I have an idea!" she said.

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "Should I start running?" he asked and was rewarded with a slap on the shoulder.

"Shut it, Jay. You'll like it. I was thinking we can do a Secret Santa, you know like you, Raiden, and I did every year during this time, with the exception of last year. We could have all our friends do it and we can give the person we pick our presents on Christmas day. What do ya say?"

"I like it, though it'll be different without Raiden," Jaden said. He looked at the Russian student before adding, "What do you say, Arina?"

"It sounds like it'll be fun," Arina said. "But what could we get for everyone other than cards?"

"Maybe we could make people things so not all of us have to get everyone cards," Kasumi suggested. "I mean, it's the thought that counts and I think it'll be fun."

"Me too. Why don't we tell Syrus, Chumley and Alexis and even Zane if he wants?" Jaden suggested.

"Kasumi and I can tell Alexis and Zane," Arina offered.

"Okay."

**. . .**

"A Secret Santa?" Alexis echoed once Arina told them of Kasumi's idea. She and Zane were currently standing by the lighthouse, with the sun dangling like a pendant over their heads; it was just after noon and there was still no snow, though the gathering clouds suggested that it wouldn't remain that way for long.

"Yeah. I rather like the idea," Arina said.

"And I was thinking we could make whoever we pick make our gifts so we don't just give each other cards," Kasumi said.

Alexis pressed her lips together thoughtfully. It was an interesting idea and she did like the idea of making things, like she and Atticus used to do when they were younger and couldn't afford to get each other, or their parents, gifts. "I'm in," she said before she looked at Zane who had, thus far, remained silent. "What about you, Zane?"

Zane shrugged. "Why not?" he said monotonously.

Alexis blinked, surprised, despite herself that Zane had agreed before she decided to push it off as it being the holiday spirit. After all, Christmas was a happy season, even if it was less than two weeks following the anniversary of the disappearance of Alexis's brother.

**. . .**

_'You_ _better not be moping around, Judai,_' Yubel said, materializing in Jaden's room next to the bunk bed. Syrus and Chumley were already fast asleep as it was just after midnight, but Jaden was wide awake, gazing up at the bottom of Syrus's bunk. The reason why he was so down was because that day was the anniversary of his brother's disappearance.

_I'm not moping, Yubel. I'm just thinking,_ Jaden thought, rolling onto his side to look at the floating demonic fiend beside his bed. _I have a lead on where my brother could be but I don't think I'll be able to do much with it, not without risking expulsion and going back to the Abandoned Dorm._

_'There_ _isn't much you can do, Judai. There is no point in over-thinking this entire thing. You also have to keep in mind that your brother could have been caught up in the Shadow Game mess just like Titan,_' Yubel said.

_That's what scares me the most,_ Jaden thought.

_'Think_ _about something else or at least try and get some sleep,_' Yubel said.

_I'll do my best,_ Jaden thought before he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes but, unfortunately, sleep still eluded him.

**. . .**

"So we just pick a name and whoever we pick, we have to get a gift for?" Syrus asked.

The three Slifers, Kasumi, Alexis, Arina, and Zane were standing outside near the lighthouse. It still wasn't snowing but it was cold, despite the fact that the sun was high in the sky, even if only a few rays of sunlight were puncturing the cloudy sky above. It was still about two days before the rest of the students would be leaving for the holidays.

"Pretty much, yeah," Kasumi said.

"So does it matter what we get someone?"

"Nah, so long as you get 'em something, but Kas has a good idea about us making things for whoever we pick," Jaden said. "You don't have to 'cause it's the thought that counts and all."

"Oh, and don't tell anyone who you pick. That'll be revealed Christmas day," Kasumi added. She paused before adding, "I think this is gonna be fun with as many people who are participating as there are since it'll be hard to guess who our Secret Santa is."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah, I'll go first," he suggested before reaching over to the papers that Kasumi was holding facedown in her hands. He picked one of them before glancing at the name, surprised when he saw the name written on it in cursive.

_Alexis._

Jaden flicked his eyes toward the blonde Obelisk, who was picking her own name from Kasumi's hands before he looked back at the paper, wondering what he could get the pretty Obelisk.

_Did I really just think that?_ Jaden thought when he realized what he had just thought.

_'Yes_,' Yubel said with a smirk as she floated, transparent, behind him. _'It_ _looks as though someone has a crush._'

Jaden had to fight to keep his cheeks from reddening as he glared at Yubel. _Shut up,_ he thought.

Kasumi grinned widely and Jaden winced, knowing since she could hear and see duel spirits—despite not liking to—she had just heard Yubel's words. She rarely acknowledged it when a duel spirit spoke, as she believed it was linked with her 'cursed power' as she called it, and whenever Yubel spoke was usually the only time that Kasumi actually listened.

Jaden tossed his sister a warning glare but her grin just widened; she said nothing though as Zane grabbed the second to last piece of paper and she turned over the last one. She looked at it before nodding.

"So where do ya wanna meet to exchange the gifts?" Syrus asked curiously as he put his piece of paper into the pocket of his pants.

"How about the Slifer Dorm?" Jaden suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Alexis said and Arina and Kasumi nodded in agreement.

Zane just shrugged and turned his gaze back to the ocean without another word.

Jaden looked over at Alexis who had walked over to join Zane and he found himself wondering what he could get her.

**. . .**

"Damn it!"

"What's the matter, Jay?" Kasumi looked over at her adopted brother who had his head pressed into the wall. They had been walking down the hallways of Duel Academy, heading toward the main doors as the last class of the last day before holidays ended. Already, the majority of halls were empty of students as they had left quickly to either finish packing or grab their stuff and head toward the docks. Kasumi and Jaden were, currently, the only ones in the hall they were walking down.

"I can't think of what to get the person I picked for my Secret Santa," Jaden said to the wall.

"Why not just get her something simple? That's what I'm doing and that's only 'cause I don't know the person I picked as well as I know you or Raiden," Kasumi said.

"I know that, but I still don't know what to do."

"Why don't you draw her something? Didn't you win that contest Industrial Illusions was holding with your drawings?"

"It took me weeks to finish those designs," Jaden admitted before he pressed his lips together as he looked at Kasumi. "But I do have a few weeks until Christmas. Maybe…" He trailed off thoughtfully before looking at Kasumi. "Thanks, Kas. I think I got an idea of what to do."

Kasumi grinned. "Anytime, Jay. I'm sure if you do a good job, then it'll impress your future girlfriend," she said.

Jaden went red with embarrassment. "Kas, she's just a friend," he protested.

Kasumi grinned. "Denial's not just a river in Egypt," she said in a sing-song voice.

_'You_ _do like her,_' Yubel said with a smirk.

Jaden glared at the spirit before frowning as a thought came to him. "By the way, how'd you know which name I picked?" he asked.

Kasumi smirked. "By the fact that you looked at Alexis and then was trying, and failing, by the way, to stop from blushing," she said.

Jaden sighed. "Okay, I like her…a little," he said.

Kasumi hummed, obviously not believing the _'a little'_ part but she said nothing. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now you just gotta tell her," she said.

Jaden just gave her an incredulous look as if to say _'you've_ _got to be kidding me._'

"Well, how is she gonna become your girlfriend if you don't tell her?" Kasumi asked.

Jaden groaned. His sister could be persistent when she put her mind to it.

**. . .**

It was sometime into winter break, where practically everyone had left the island. Torrey, an Obelisk Blue student with long, straight brown hair and glasses over his eyes, tore through the forest, his eyes wild with panic and fear as he ran, jumping over upturned roots and occasionally looking over his shoulder.

"_Help!_ _Someone,__help me!_" he screamed as he ran through a forest shrouded in shadows.

Snow fell from the sky above, small flakes of frozen water made its way quietly to the ground and a cold wind slapped Torrey in the face as he continued to run, attempting to put distance between himself and the one he thought was chasing him.

_I can't believe this is happening, _he thought, still looking over his shoulder occasionally. _I can't believe he came alive! He took my friends!_

"_Please! Someone,__help me!_"

**. . .**

At the Slifer dorm, Kasumi had joined her brother, Syrus and Chumley. Alexis and Arina had opted to stay at the Obelisk dorm to work on their gifts for whoever they picked for the Secret Santa exchange; no one had heard from Zane, but Kasumi figured he was doing the same thing. Either that or he was standing out in the snow by the lighthouse again. When it came to Zane, it was hard to figure out what he was doing at any given moment.

_'Something_ _doesn't feel right,_' Yubel said suddenly as she appeared in the room, causing Jaden to glance toward her.

"Yeah, I sense it too. Something just happened and I don't know what to make of it," he murmured.

Kasumi frowned, wondering what her brother was talking about.

"Man, this place feels so empty," Syrus said.

"At least we're on break now. No more school for a few more weeks and more time for duels, like I said a few days ago," Jaden said, attempting to take his mind off the bad feeling both he and Yubel were feeling.

"And that also means more cafeteria food for us," Chumley said.

The three Slifers and one Obelisk were currently sitting in the meal hall of the Slifer Dorm with Professor Banner and Pharaoh, who, along with Chumley, were sitting beside a small grill, cooking something.

"Speaking of that, Chumley, I can't help but wonder why all we're eating are marshmallows," Banner said.

"Well, we already ate all the grilled cheeses?"

"We?" Banner said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you mean you," Kasumi said with a smile.

Pharaoh watched as the marshmallows on the grill suddenly started to grow bigger before they exploded with a big pop, sending sticky white goo flying in all directions.

Kasumi giggled.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and the gang leapt to their feet as an Obelisk crashed through the door and was now lying on pieces of shattered glass and wood, looking dazed and groaning in pain.

Kasumi moved to the boy's side before gently helping him to sit up. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked before she frowned when she spotted the fear that glowed in the boy's eyes.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Jaden said, also walking over to join the boy.

"I…I have," the boy gasped, fear flooding his eyes. "It was Jinzo!"

Kasumi glanced toward Banner. "I think we should call the school nurse," she said.

Jaden was frowning before looking at Yubel. "Do you think…?" he began softly, almost too softly for the blue-black haired Lightsworn duelist to hear.

_'It_ is _very possible. I can feel the presence of a spirit coming closer,_' Yubel murmured.

Banner walked over to the group. "I know you, you're Torrey," he said. "You were in my Para-Dueling class."

Torrey looked at the Slifer Headmaster before nodding. "That's right," he said before he grabbed Banner's leg. "That lecture you gave about duel spirits being real, it's all true. We ended up bringing one to life."

_'That_ _definitely explains that feeling we've been having. He's been dabbling in something he shouldn't have,_' Yubel said.

_'Then_ _just leave him to his fate. He should not have messed with something he does not understand,_' Haou said coolly.

Banner knelt down and placed his hands on Torrey's shoulders. "Calm down, Torrey. Tell us what happened."

"Yes, Professor. A while back, I told some of my friends about what you said, and that under certain conditions, duel spirits can come to life," Torrey said. "Well, we started to try and make those conditions, even though the Academy forbids it."

_'Idiots_,' Haou muttered.

_'Will_ _you be quiet?_' Yubel hissed.

"We did it a couple of times," Torrey went on, unaware of what the duel spirit in the room and the spirit-voice in Jaden's head were saying. Jaden ignored them as well; he had gotten used to them arguing and he rarely interfered. It was already bad enough that he often thought he was crazy when his powers first awakened and he started hearing Haou's voice in his mind.

"But nothing happened, until yesterday…" Torrey was saying.

**Flashback**

_In the library, three Obelisk boys—Torrey among them—stood in front of a table; each of them held a set of candles and they were each wearing robes. One of the other two boys was shorter than Torrey while the other was plump and wearing glasses. The smaller boy placed a bard on the table and looked at his friends._

"Maybe it was because we used our bed sheets as robes, or that we used Dr. Crowler's bath candles, but, anyway, this time something was different. You see, we all put our hands on the Ouija Board and said the incantation…" Torrey narrated.

_"From vapor to flesh, wind to a roar, come,__Jinzo,__from the Land of Yore," the three students chanted in unison, their hands planted firmly on the seeing glass on the Ouija Board. All of them stood in silence, looking around to see if anything happened._

_A book suddenly fell from the second floor and the boys glanced at it before looking at each other, suddenly nervous. Then, suddenly, they felt the glass move and they all looked down as it began settling itself on different letters._

**End Flashback**

Torrey lowered his head. "The Ouija Board spelled out, 'Give me three and I'll be free'. We thought he meant cards!" he exclaimed.

Jaden pressed a hand to his forehead. "Oh boy, this is bad," he murmured.

Banner frowned. "Dear me, mere cards alone won't satisfy Jinzo's appetite. This is just awful," he said.

"What did Jinzo mean by 'give me three and I'll be free'?" Syrus asked.

"He meant people!" Torrey exclaimed.

"People?!"

"The worst thing is that we had already agreed, before we knew what he meant. Now my friends…" he trailed off.

"What happened to them?" Kasumi asked gently.

"They're both gone," Torrey said. "At first, one of them disappeared and then the other one vanished. Now, he's coming after me."

"Are you sure they didn't just leave for break?" Kasumi suggested while Jaden narrowed his eyes.

Torrey shook his head. "No, I called their parents, but they had no idea where they were. Even I tried to get on the ferry to get away but when I got to the docks, he was there, on the boat, waiting for me."

_Well, at least the Slifer Dorm is safe, _Kasumi thought.

_'He's_ _here_,' Yubel murmured.

Suddenly, the lights went out, shrouding the whole room in shadows. A loud scream followed by a cat's screech were heard and then there was the rapid thumping of footsteps and kitchenware being knocked over.

Banner held up his hands as Pharaoh let out a hiss. "Relax, everyone, maybe it was just a fuse going out," he suggested.

"Or maybe, it was me."

Everyone, except Jaden, jumped and cried out before looking at the door to see a tall man in a black leather trench coat and black hat standing just outside, holding an unconscious Torrey under his arm.

Jaden's eyes cooled. "Let Torrey go, Jinzo," he said.

Jinzo locked eyes with the brunette before coolly saying, "We had a deal and now it is time for him to pay his end of the bargain." Without another word, he turned and ran off into the woods.

"Hey, get back here!" Kasumi shouted and dashed off after him.

"Kas!" Jaden shouted and ran off after his sister.

"Jaden, wait up!" the rest of the gang shouted, running after Jaden and Kasumi into the forest.

**. . .**

It took some searching but eventually the gang stopped running as they reached a fenced off area with tall metal towers rising up at each corner with wires and generators lining the fence. Jaden and Kasumi stood just outside it, gazing at it before looking at each other; Jaden was wary while Kasumi looked determined.

"Where are we?" Syrus asked.

Banner looked around. "From the looks of things, this might be the central power station for the whole island," he said.

"Look, I see Torrey," Kasumi said, pointing, and the gang turned to find the unconscious Obelisk lying on the ground at the other end of the station.

"Torrey, you're safe now," the Lightsworn duelist added as she headed toward the unconscious Obelisk only to stop when Jaden grabbed her arm and pulled her back, his eyes fixed on the area near Torrey.

A cool dark laugh sounded as purple electricity crackled around the area, jumping from one tower to the next. Jinzo appeared out of nowhere, laughing, as the energy lit up the sky; his body was no longer covered with the trench coat and hat. He looked like the image on his card; a tall humanoid in a green-and-yellow suit with dark-green shoulder plates, an exposed pink head covered by a green mask, and glowing red eyes.

"None of you are safe," the duel monster stated.

Jaden growled. "Look, Jinzo, step aside and let us get our companion back," he said coolly.

Jinzo eyed him, something that surprised Kasumi, before he said, "Fool, as I have already said, he made a deal and I am merely fulfilling it."

"What's going on?" Syrus asked, looking at Banner before pointing at the flickering monster. "Why does Jinzo look like that?"

Banner looked at Jinzo and then looked at the towers, which were still crackling with electricity before he put two and two together. "He's using the power of the supply station to keep himself in this world until he can get Torrey's soul. He's a crafty one," he said.

"Well, if you want a third soul, Jinzo," Jaden began only to have Kasumi step forward, her duel disk already flaring to life.

"Take me," she said.

"Kas, what are you doing?" Jaden demanded.

Jinzo looked at her. "You do have more vitality than this pathetic human," he said, briefly glancing at Torrey's unconscious form. "Very well, I'll take you up on your offer."

"Only on the condition that we duel," Kasumi said, already reaching for her deck. "I win, you release Torrey and the others you took. You win, you can have me."

"Kas…"

"I'm doing this, Jay. Don't try and stop me," Kasumi said firmly.

Jaden sighed. Kasumi's as stubborn as ever. _She does realize that a lot is on the line, right?_ he thought, looking at Yubel.

'_I'm_ _sure she does. And I get the feeling she is doing this because she doesn't want anything to happen to you,_' Yubel said, appearing just behind Jaden, though Jinzo didn't seem to have noticed.

_I can take care of myself and I could've beaten him,_ Jaden thought, looking back at Kasumi who was placing her deck into her duel disk, her eyes fixed on Jinzo. _What's she trying to prove?_

Yubel shrugged. _'Possibly_ _that she can withstand these kinds of duels just like you can, or maybe she is attempting to make up for what happened at the Abandoned Dorm. Or she could just want to duel someone she's never dueled before. There really is no telling why your sister chose to duel instead of you,_' she said.

"A duel?" Jinzo echoed before he thought about it and then smiled. "All right. I should be sustained long enough by this electrical limbo for a match." He laughed as more white arcs of electricity surged around them and cut Kasumi off from the rest of the gang.

"First I'll beat you and then I'll consume you," Jinzo stated.

"Whatever. You're going down, Jinzo," Kasumi said as she drew her opening hand and the duel began.

**Kasumi: 4000**

**Jinzo: 4000**

Jinzo nodded as five large holographic cards that served as his opening hand appeared in front of him, their backs toward Kasumi. "So you say. First, I summon Malice Doll of Demise in Attack Mode."

A creepy doll in blue overalls wielding a large axe appeared on the field, a look of bloodlust in his eyes as he fixed them on Kasumi, who shivered (A: 1600/D: 1700).

"Looks like something out of a horror movie," she said.

"You don't even like horror movies, Kas," Jaden mused.

"Well, yeah, but it still looks creepy."

"Next, I'll play the Spell Card, Ectoplasmer," Jinzo added as another card appeared on the field before flipping up. "This fiendish spirit allows each player to sacrifice a monster on their field at the end of their turn. Then, half the monster's Attack is dealt to the opponent as Direct Damage."

A white serpentine spirit flew out of the doll, causing it to collapse before it flew through Kasumi's chest and she winced.

**Kasumi: 3200**

**Jinzo: 4000**

"Oh man. Kasumi's already falling behind and it's not even her first turn yet," Syrus gasped.

"It's worse. Since that doll was sent to the Graveyard by a Continuous Spell, it can keep coming back," Kasumi said without taking her eyes off Jinzo as he signaled the end of his turn. "But at least I can use Ectoplasmer's effect too. My turn, I draw."

She drew a card before looking at it and then at the cards in her hand. "I summon Ehren, Lightsworn Monk to my field in Attack Mode."

The dark-skinned warrior in the white-and-gold armor with a red skirt and dark-brown pig-tails appeared on the field, wielding a staff (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"Ehren, attack Jinzo directly," Kasumi ordered and Ehren leapt forward before kicking Jinzo in the chest, though her leg only went through the spirit.

**Kasumi: 3200**

**Jinzo: 2400**

"Next, I'll use Ectoplasmer's effect as well."

The white spirit form of Ehren appeared, sending Ehren to the Graveyard, before flying through Jinzo, knocking out more of his Life Points and causing him to growl.

**Kasumi: 3200**

**Jinzo: 1600**

"I end my turn with one card facedown," Kasumi said and a vertical facedown card appeared at her feet.

"I hope that facedown of hers will help when that creepy doll comes back," Syrus said softly.

Kasumi smiled. "Don't worry, Sy, I've got this," she said.

Jinzo growled as another card appeared in front of him. "You will still lose. Since Malice Doll of Demise was sent to the Graveyard thanks to an effect of a Continuous Spell Card, he is automatically resurrected."

The creepy doll returned to the field (A: 1600/D: 1700).

"Next, I summon Emissary of the Afterlife in Attack Mode," Jinzo added and a creepy reaper like creature wielding a scythe appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 600).

"Since you have no monsters out, I can attack you directly, Sickle Slasher!" Jinzo ordered.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack, which stops your attack and ends the Battle Phase," Kasumi said, revealing her facedown and a shield appeared in front of her, catching Emissary of the Afterlife's attack and forcing him back to Jinzo's side of the field.

With a furious growl, Jinzo said angrily, "I can still take Life Points because of Ectoplasmer."

Malice Doll of Demise was rendered spiritless as the white serpentine spirit flew out of him and through Kasumi, causing her to wince.

**Kasumi: 2400**

**Jinzo: 1600**

"I end my turn," Jinzo said.

"And it's my turn," Kasumi said, drawing a card. "And I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner to my field in Attack Mode."

The dark-skinned blonde dressed in white with a white scarf around her neck appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1000).

"Next, I equip her with Lightsworn Sabre, which increases her Attack by 700," Kasumi added, placing a card into a card slot and Lumina was now wielding a blue saber in her hand (A: 1000-1700).

"Lumina, attack Emissary of the Afterlife," Kasumi ordered and Lumina leapt across the field before slicing through Emissary with her saber as if it was made out of butter.

**Kasumi: 2400**

**Jinzo: 1500**

"Foolish mortal, by destroying Emissary of the Afterlife, we are allowed to had one level three or lower Normal Monster from our deck to our hand, I choose Thousand-Eyed Idol," Jinzo said before the card was added to his hand.

Kasumi ground her teeth together. "I have no Normal Monsters in my deck," she said. _I don't really need any since they wouldn't help all that much, _she thought. "And my turn's not over yet. Next, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Ectoplasmer!"

She played the card and a mini-tornado spun across the field before crashing into Ectoplasmer.

"Yes. Now if Jinzo's Doll is destroyed next turn, it can't come back," Chumley said.

"That and Kasumi won't have to worry about being left without defense since she had to tribute a monster so long as Ectoplasmer was in play," Banner added.

"I end my turn, and since Lumina's still on the field, I have to mill three cards from my deck because of her effect," Kasumi said before doing just that.

Jinzo glared at Kasumi as another card appeared in front of him. "My draw," he said before he looked at the card and laughed. "Heh and I couldn't have asked for a better one. With this card, my resurrection is all the more closer."

"What card?" Kasumi asked.

_I have a bad feeling about this,_ Jaden thought.

"First, because of its effect, Malice Doll of Demise returns to the field," he said and the creepy doll returned once again (A: 1600/D: 1700).

"That creepy doll is overstaying his welcome," Kasumi muttered.

"And now I sacrifice Malice Doll of Demise in order to conjure,"—the spirit laughed as the card he had just drawn was turned over to reveal itself to the others—"Jinzo!"

Electricity began to dance across the field from the nearby towers before colliding into the air and then striking at the card. It disappeared and a large figure rose to the field, crackling with energy; it was tall and humanoid dressed in green-and-yellow armor with dark green shoulder plates, it was the spirit itself except that it looked real (A: 2400/D: 1500).

"Did he really just summon himself?" Kasumi said with a raised eyebrow.

"Looks like he did," Jaden mused.

"And now I attack your Lumina," Jinzo declared before unleashing a ball of crackling black energy that flew across the field and struck Lumina, causing her to shatter and Kasumi to wine as she was sent skidding backwards a few feet.

**Kasumi: 1700**

**Jinzo: 1500**

Jaden's brow furrowed in concern when he noticed that Kasumi's legs had turned transparent and seemed to shimmer.

Jinzo laughed. "Having this duel was a wonderful idea. It's much more fun enjoying something slowly, tasting it instead of taking it in all at once," he said.

"Kasumi, your legs!" Chumley shouted, eyes wide with shock.

Kasumi looked down and her eyes widened with slight fear.

"He's taking your life force now that you've lost over half your life points," Jaden said worriedly.

"The boy is right. I am cashing in on our deal and it feels so good," Jinzo said with a laugh.

Kasumi glared at Jinzo. "Well, that's all he's gonna get," she said before she drew a card as Jinzo ended his turn. "'Cause I'm gonna beat him. I activate the Spell Charge of the Light Brigade. By milling the top three cards from my deck, I can add one level four or lower Lightsworn monster from my deck to my hand"—Kasumi broke off as she searched through her deck for the monster she wanted—"and then I'll Set that monster in facedown Defense Mode and end my turn."

A facedown horizontal card appeared at her feet.

"That is it? Pathetic," Jinzo said as another card appeared in front of him. "I summon Spirit Caller to my field in Attack Mode," he said and a robed old man appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1000).

Kasumi looked at the new monster before back at Jinzo. _Okay, so I'll lose Life Points but it's a price I'll pay if it means getting Jinzo off the field before he can do even more damage,_ she thought. _So come on, attack. I'll be ready._

_'Kasumi_ _has a plan,_' Yubel said.

_Yeah, she probably does,_ Jaden thought.

Jinzo glanced towards Jaden before his eyes flickered to Yubel but he said nothing.

Winged Kuriboh appeared on Jaden's shoulder with a _'coo'_ and Jaden smiled at the newest member to the family. "Yeah, Kasumi'll be fine, Winged Kuriboh," he said before looking at Kasumi.

Jinzo turned his gaze back to Kasumi. "Now then, I shall attack your facedown monster," he called and a blast of crackling black energy shot across the ground before slamming into the card causing the white armored wolf-like creature to appear on the field.

"When Ryko is flip-summoned, I can target one card on the field and destroy it and I choose you, Jinzo!" Kasumi declared with a smile.

"NO!" Jinzo screamed as he was forced to revert back to his transparent stage and Ryko shattered soon after as Kasumi sent another three cards from her deck to the Grave for activating Ryko's effect.

"Way to go, Kasumi," Syrus cheered.

"No! I will not let it end like this!" Jinzo screamed and suddenly vanished.

"Where did he go?" asked Kasumi.

"Over there," Jaden said, pointing at Torrey as the Obelisk got to his feet, glowing red eyes fixed on Kasumi and the rest of the group.

"Torrey, are you okay?" Kasumi asked.

"That's not Torrey, Kas," Jaden said.

"The boy is right. I am not Torrey. I am Jinzo," Torrey said; his voice was overlaid with Jinzo's voice. "You may have destroyed me but this is not over. Spirit Caller, attack the wretched girl directly."

Spirit Caller attacked and Kasumi winced as she felt the monster's attack strike her.

**Kasumi: 700**

**Jinzo: 1500**

"I end my turn," the Jinzo possessed Torrey declared.

"And it's my turn then," Kasumi said, drawing a card before smiling when she saw what it was. _I'll need to stall for another turn so that I can summon her and I have plenty of cards in my deck to spare to use her effect so I'll go with this,_ she thought before she picked a card from her hand. "I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress in Attack Mode."

The beautiful black-haired sorceress appeared on the field, holding her staff (A: 1700/D: 300).

"Lyla, attack Spirit Caller," Kasumi ordered and Lyla raised her staff before a beam of light shot forward before slamming into Spirit Caller, causing it to shatter.

**Kasumi: 700**

**Jinzo: 800**

"And then I place this facedown and end my turn, which means sending three cards from my deck to the Graveyard because of Lyla's effect," Kasumi added before milling three of the cards in her deck.

"And it is my turn," Jinzo said as a card appeared in front of him. "And I summon Reflect Bounder in Attack Mode." A red machine monster with a mirror on his chest and a blue lower body appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 1000).

_Well, that card would've worked if I hadn't already had the card I needed in my hand and a monster to tribute on the field,_ Kasumi thought. "It has the same attack as my monster," she pointed out.

"Does not matter, because of his effect," Jinzo declared.

Kasumi shrugged. "Whatever you say," she said. She knew she had this duel won and Jinzo was just prolonging the inevitable.

"I place this facedown and end my turn," Jinzo declared.

Kasumi drew a card. "This duel's over," she declared.

Jinzo glared at her. "It is not, not yet," he said.

"Oh it is," Kasumi said. "I sacrifice Lyla in order to summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel to my field in Attack Mode."

Lyla vanished to be replaced by the tall, white-winged blue-haired angel (A: 2300/D: 200).

"Next, I activate Celestia's effect. By sending the top four cards of my deck to the Grave, I can target up to two cards on the field and destroy them. Your Reflect Bounder may toss a monster attack back at me but it doesn't stop an effect. I choose to destroy your Reflect Bounder and your facedown card."

"NO!" Jinzo screamed as his facedown and his last line of defense shattered.

"Celestia, attack Jinzo directly, Celestial Strike!" Kasumi ordered and Celestia raised her staff before unleashing a beam of light that shot toward the possessed Obelisk. A bright light suddenly engulfed the whole area and then there was nothing but darkness.

**Kasumi: 700 WINNER**

**Jinzo: 0**

**. . .**

Jaden groaned before lifting his head and looking around. He was lying on the ground in the power supply station and, by the looks of it, it was morning. _Did we really just spend the night out here?_ he thought.

_'Looks_ _like it,_' Yubel said, sounding a bit groggy and Jaden figured the light that had caused him to blackout had affected her as well.

"Did we miss breakfast?" Chumley asked as he sat up.

Kasumi, pushing herself into a sitting position, chuckled while Jaden smiled before they glanced as one toward where Torrey had been standing before they backed out; he wasn't alone, though, as there were two other Obelisk with him, the other two that went missing, Jaden figured.

"Thank goodness they're back," Banner said with a sigh of relief as the group walked over to the sleeping students.

Syrus glanced at Jaden. "You think they'll remember anything?" he asked.

"I think it would be best if they didn't," Jaden said.

Kasumi nodded in agreement. "Well, if they remember then maybe it'll stop them from doing something stupid like this again," she said.

_If they do remember, I hope Kasumi's right and they take this as a lesson learned, _Jaden thought.

"Should we get them inside?" Syrus said.

"It stopped snowing. Maybe we should let 'em sleep it off," Kasumi suggested.

"Outside?"

"Why not?"

"You know I could go for some grilled marshmallow sandwiches," Chumley said.

"We haven't run out yet?" Syrus asked curiously.

"I'm not running anywhere," Chumley declared.

Jaden and the rest of the group chuckled but otherwise said nothing.

**. . .**

Kasumi peered over Jaden's shoulder, looking at the picture he was sketching and had to admit that he was good. He may not be able to draw in a single day, but if he had time, then he could actually draw pretty good pictures. It was still the holidays and Jaden was currently seated on the edge of the cliff, sketchpad in hand and pencil in his other hand. Thankfully, it wasn't snowing and it wasn't windy.

Jaden paused, lifting the pencil off the paper before tapping it against his lips, clearly trying to think of what to draw next. "That's actually really good," she said.

Jaden jumped before glaring at Kasumi. "You're lucky I wasn't drawing at the time," he said. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Kasumi said, sitting down beside her adopted brother. "Did it really take you weeks to finish those designs that you submitted to that contest?"

Jaden, lowering his pencil back to the sketchpad, nodded. "I can't draw things in a single day, Kas. It takes me time to do it if I want it to be good. Raiden said I'm a perfectionist when it comes to drawings, which is why it takes me a long time to finish them," he admitted.

"You never drew much when I became part of your family," Kasumi said.

Jaden shrugged. "I also have to be inspired by something. That's what happened with my designs, though, to this day, I still don't know what inspired me to draw them," he said.

"So I'm guessing _she_ inspired you this time," Kasumi said with a cheeky grin and laughed when Jaden went red and he glared at her.

"She's only a friend," he muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that. I'm sure someday you'll believe it."

"You're annoying, little sis."

"Well, if I'm your 'little sis', it's my job to be annoying."

Jaden chuckled. "I used that on Raiden before. He just grabbed me in a headlock and did not let go until I promised not to annoy him for the rest of the day," he said.

Kasumi chuckled.

"So, what did you get for the person you chose for the Secret Santa?" Jaden asked.

"It was a bit tough, since I don't know the person I chose very well, so I just got him a card. I was gonna make him something but I couldn't think of what to make him," Kasumi admitted. She knew it was her idea to begin with but it was hard coming up with a handmade gift for someone you barely knew.

"Who did you get?"

"Nope, that's what makes this fun, Jay. Trying to figure out who's whose Secret Santa."

"It was so much easier with just you and Raiden 'cause there's a fifty-fifty chance I'll pick the right person," Jaden mused.

Kasumi chuckled. "I'm curious to know what everyone did for everyone else," she admitted.

"Me too."

"Well, I'll leave you to finish your future girlfriend's drawing," Kasumi said, getting to her feet before jogging away, laughing, while Jaden, scowling, glared at her.

Yubel was snickering and Jaden sighed before returning his attention to his drawing; he only had a little less than a week to finish it but, thankfully, he was almost done.

**. . .**

"_MERRY CHRISTMAS!_"

Kasumi was rewarded with two pillows to the face but that did nothing to dampen her cheer, though she did wonder how Jaden got the extra pillow. "Come on, you three; it's Christmas morning," she said, resting her hands on her hips from where she stood in the doorway to her adopted brother's dorm room.

"So?" Jaden said into his pillow. "It's still too early. Come back in an hour…or three."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Geez, it's last year all over again," she muttered.

Syrus was yawning as he climbed off his bunk. "Morning, Kasumi, merry Christmas," he said.

"Yeah, what he said," Chumley grunted into his pillow.

"We're gonna be doing the Secret Santa exchange in the meal hall," Kasumi said, ignoring Chumley who was groggily lifting his head from his pillow.

"Okay," Syrus said before he looked at Jaden. "How do we wake him up?"

Kasumi grinned.

About ten minutes later, a scowling Jaden, Kasumi, Syrus and Chumley walked into the meal hall where the three other Obelisks were already waiting. Banner was also there, looking on curiously while carrying Pharaoh in his arms. "My, I haven't seen this many Obelisks here before," he mused.

"Well, Kasumi's idea of a Secret Santa thing sounded like a good idea to me," Arina said with a shrug. "Why are you scowling, Jaden?"

"Someone saw fit to wake me up by dumping a bucket of cold water on me," Jaden said, glaring at Syrus.

"It was her idea," Syrus protested, pointing at Kasumi who smirked.

"Well, you wouldn't get up any other way," she said with a shrug.

Jaden scowled.

"Well, why don't we start then? Professor Banner, would you mind handing the gifts out?" Kasumi asked as the group sat down around one of the tables.

"Why don't we just hand our gifts to the people we picked?" Chumley asked.

"I think it's more fun for everyone to try and guess who their Secret Santa is," Kasumi said with a smile. "But, of course, you can tell whoever you picked you're their Secret Santa if you want to."

"Personally, I want to try and guess," Alexis admitted.

Kasumi grinned at Jaden who glared at her.

"That's what Jay, Raiden and I did. It didn't really work that well 'cause it was only the three of us. Okay, let's start. Professor Banner, do you mind doing this?"

"Not at all," Banner said as he put Pharaoh down and walked over to the pile of gifts. "Okay, the first one is for Syrus."

Syrus took the present before looking at it; it was a small box wrapped in blue wrapping paper with a silver ribbon tied around it. Syrus tore the paper before opening up the box and pulling out a single card from it. "Wow, a neat card with a nice effect," he said.

"Well, what is it, Sy?' Jaden asked, peering over the little Slifer's shoulder to look at the card. It was a Phantom of Chaos card. "That is a neat effect."

"So, who do you think gave it to you?" Banner asked.

"Uhhhh…" Syrus looked around but no one seemed to stand out as the person who would give him that card. "I dunno."

Kasumi smiled. "It was me," she said. "I saw that card and thought that maybe you could use it with your vehicroids since it does copy the name and effect of any monster in the Graveyard."

"Thanks, Kasumi," Syrus said before he placed the card on the table.

"You're welcome. Who's next?"

"You," Banner said before holding out the gift and Kasumi took it, noticing it was wrapped in blue wrapping paper, before she opened it. What she saw surprised her; it was a friendship bracelet made from blue, silver, green and red beads, attached to a blue string. She lifted it up. "Cool, these look like those bracelets my sister and I used to make when we were younger."

"Sister? You have a sister?" Chumley asked.

Kasumi closed her eyes and looked away. "Not anymore. I don't know what happened to her," she said. "This was before I was adopted by Jaden's family."

"Oh."

Kasumi opened her eyes before looking at it. "I'm gonna guess either Alexis or Arina, since, no offense, but I honestly don't think any of you guys made it," she said.

"Well, she's got a point there," Syrus mused.

Chumley and Jaden nodded in agreement.

Zane just remained silent.

"It was me," Alexis said. "I used to make friendship bracelets back when I was younger with Jasmine and Mindy so I thought I'd make one for you."

"Thanks, Lex," Kasumi said before she leaned over to Jaden and murmured under her breath, "I like your future girlfriend."

Jaden blushed and he glared at her. "Shut up," he hissed under his breath.

"Okay, next one is for Zane," Banner said before holding out the gift to Zane who wordlessly took it and opened it. Syrus looked a little nervous, which gave away just who Zane's Secret Santa was.

Zane opened the box the gift was in before raising an eyebrow and pulling out a single card.

"Well, what is it?" Alexis asked curiously.

Zane wordlessly held out the card; it was a Scrap-Iron Scarecrow card.

"Wasn't that one of the cards in that mostly recently released booster pack?" Jaden asked.

Zane nodded before he put the card down. "Thank you, Syrus," he said calmly.

Syrus started. "How'd you know?" he asked.

Zane's lips quirked into the beginnings of a smile, so faint it was barely noticeable. "I saw you buy that booster pack from the card shop," he said.

"Oh."

"Jaden, the next one is for you," Banner said and handed an envelope to Jaden who took it and opened it.

"Whoa, look at this," he said before showing the picture to Kasumi. It was a drawing of him and Syrus in their tag-duel against Alexis and Kasumi, complete with the ocean in the background.

"Wow, that is a good drawing," Kasumi said.

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm guessing you have no clue who drew that."

"Nope."

"I drew that for ya. I couldn't think of what to give ya, so I just drew yours and Kasumi's most recent duel against each other," Chumley admitted.

"Who knew you were an artist, Chum," Syrus said, also looking at the picture before Jaden folded it up and returned it to the envelope.

Chumley shrugged, looking embarrassed. "It's not that great," he said.

"You're just being modest now," Kasumi said with a faint smile, "'cause it's really good."

"Next gift is for Arina," Banner said and handed the small gift to Arina.

"I get the feeling most people gave the people they chose cards," Syrus said.

"Well, it seems the easy way to get a gift for someone you've only known for a few months," Kasumi said with a shrug as she slipped on the bracelet Alexis gave her.

Arina opened the gift to reveal that it was another card. "Oh, this will work really well with my deck," she said before revealing that the card was the Field Spell The Sanctuary in the Sky. "Thank you to whoever gave this to me."

"You use a deck with primarily Fairy-type monsters so I thought it was practical to give you that," Zane said calmly.

Arina smiled at Zane. "Again, thank you, Zane," she said.

"Okay, there're two more," Banner said. "One for Chumley and the other for Alexis. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," Chumley said with a shrug before taking the gift and tearing through the wrapping paper to reveal a black throw pillow on which was the picture of a gray-and-white koala.

"I know you like koalas so I thought you'd like that," Arina said.

"Thanks," Chumley said, placing the throw pillow on the table but Kasumi could tell that he really liked it.

"Okay, last gift for Alexis," Banner said.

Jaden looked nervous while Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Jay. I'm sure she'll love it," the Lightsworn duelist said.

Alexis accepted the large envelope that Banner handed her before she opened it and pulled out the thick paper that was within it. She gasped in surprise when she saw it. "Oh wow, this is amazing," she said.

"Well, what is it?" Syrus asked.

Alexis turned the picture around. It was a colored drawing of her standing next to Cyber Blader on a boat surrounded by the rippling water of the lake with some trees in the background.

"Wow, that is good," Syrus said.

"Duh, it is. Who gave it to you?" Chumley asked.

Alexis lowered the picture. "Well, the only one who hasn't given a gift is Jaden so…are you my Secret Santa, Jaden?" she asked, looking at Jaden who blushed and looked away before nodding once.

"I didn't know you could draw," Alexis said.

Jaden shrugged. "It took me a while to finish that 'cause my brother says I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my drawings and I can't finish one in a day," he admitted.

"It's still beautiful. I love it, Jaden. Thank you."

"Erm, you're welcome," Jaden said nervously.

Kasumi smiled. "Well, now that this is taken care of, what do you want to do?"

"Well, we haven't had breakfast yet," Chumley said suggestively.

Banner chuckled. "I'll go make us some breakfast. Alexis, Zane, Arina, you are welcomed to stay. It may not be as good as at the Obelisk Dorm, but it's good enough for us."

"I'll stay," Arina said.

"Me too," Alexis said.

Zane simply shook his head. "I will be at the lighthouse," he said before he got to his feet and left the Slifer Dorm.

Alexis watched him go. "Well, to be honest, I'm surprised he stayed this long," she admitted.

Arina nodded in agreement.

**. . .**

"I told you she would like it," Kasumi said later that day as the two of them sat on the cliff overlooking the sea.

Jaden rested his chin on his bent knee. "Yeah, yeah," he said.

"So, are you gonna tell her you like her?"

"Maybe someday. I don't even know if she likes me back, Kas."

Kasumi smiled. _Oh, I'm pretty sure she does,_ she thought. "Well, you won't know unless you tell her," she said.

"I guess I'm just…worried. I don't want it to ruin our friendship."

"I'm sure it won't, Jay. At least think about it. I'm gonna head back to my dorm now. Merry Christmas, Jay."

"Merry Christmas, Kas."

Jaden watched as his sister got to her feet before making her way back to the Obelisk Dorm.

_'You_ _know, she has a point,_' Yubel said.

Jaden sighed. _Not you too,_ he thought.

"Hey, mind if I join you?"

Jaden looked over his shoulder to find Alexis standing there. "Not at all," he said and Alexis sat down beside him. "I thought you went back to the dorm with Arina and Kasumi."

Alexis shrugged. "I decided to stay behind for a little while longer," she said, her gaze fixed on the undulating waves of the ocean. "That was a beautiful picture you drew, Jaden. I'm guessing it was from our duel on the lake."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah, it was," he said.

"I still want a rematch someday."

Jaden smiled as he glanced at her. "Anytime, Lex."

Alexis's cheeks reddened a little. "Do you draw a lot?" she asked conversationally.

"Not really," Jaden said. "I guess I have to be inspired before I decide to draw something."

Alexis raised an eyebrow, the blush on her cheeks refusing to leave. "So I inspired you to draw something?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, you are pretty…" Jaden trailed off, blushing when he realized he had just called his crush 'pretty' to her face.

Yubel was laughing in the back of Jaden's mind.

Alexis's blush deepened. _He thinks I'm pretty?_ she thought. "Uh, thank you, I think you're attractive too," she said. _Damn, did I really just say that?_ she thought.

Jaden just stared, unsure of what to say to that. _She thinks I'm attractive?_ he thought as an awkward silence fell over them as they attempted to figure out what to do now or what to say to break the awkward silence.

"Hey, Jaden, Banner said lunch is ready," Syrus called, jogging over to join the brunette and the blonde girl.

Jaden was beyond grateful for the interruption and, though he didn't notice, Alexis was also grateful for Syrus's arrival. "Great! I'm getting hungry anyway," he said.

"When _aren't_ you hungry?" Syrus said, rolling his eyes.

Alexis got to her feet. "I should be getting back. Merry Christmas, Jaden, Syrus," she said before she walked off.

"Merry Christmas, Alexis," Jaden said, just loud enough for the blonde Obelisk to hear, before he followed Syrus as the smaller Slifer led the way to the Slifer meal hall.

Alexis closed her eyes. _That was rather awkward. I don't know if I'll be able to look Jaden in the eye for a while after that,_ she thought but she couldn't deny that she did think Jaden was cute.

_Maybe I do have a crush on him,_ Alexis thought as she opened her eyes and continued to walk toward the Obelisk Girls' Dormitory.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter and the fiancéshipping fluff that I included**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: I liked writing the Secret Santa part**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: (pulls out flaming machete)**

**Jaden: hi…uh, did I do something wrong? (Eyes flaming machete warily)**

**Blaze: you're my all-time favorite **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**_** character and I never hurt my all-time favorite characters**

**Jesse: uh, what about me?**

**Blaze: same goes for all of my favorite characters and you're my second favorite, Jesse**

**Jesse: cool**

**Chazz: hey**

**Jaden: (looks at Chazz warily before looking at flaming machete)**

**Chazz: (notices flaming machete and backs away a step)**

**Blaze: relax, I may not like you in the first half of season 1 but you're still one of my favorite characters**

**Chazz: (snorts) whatever, I wasn't scared**

**Jesse: sure you weren't**

**Viper: hello**

**Blaze: (slams flaming machete into Viper's head, ties him up, hangs him by his ankles over a pit of sharks and piranhas with meat tied around him)**

**Chazz: (eyes Viper) man, I'm glad I'm one of her favorite characters**

**Jaden and Jesse: (nod in agreement)**

**Blaze: sorry for the long author's note. As I stated earlier, I won't update this story until I get to the Shadow Rider arc in my un-beta-read chapters, which can take anywhere from two to three weeks at least. So please review as they are much appreciated.**


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